In Buddhist literature, the sixteen frightening dreams of King Pasenadi (Sanskrit; Pali ) is notable topic of Buddhism and dreamt by the King Pasenadi of Kosala and their Interpretations by the Gautama Buddha.
Buddha used Anāgatam Nyandaw () to visualise the nightmares. Then he explained that the nightmares are the terrible things that will happen in the future. When the time reaches after 2500 Sāsanā Years () or circa 1957 A.D, the foretold events will take place.ဧကနိပါတ်ဇာတ်၊ အဋ္ဌာကထာမဟာသုပိနဇာတ် The pictures depicting the sixteen nightmares are found in some pagodas in Myanmar.
The 16 frightening dreams First dream The four strong oxen, from North, East, South and West, came to fight against one another in front of the king. But when they are about to fight, they retreated instead.
Meaning: "When bad people lead, the dark clouds came to rain, but just thunder instead, thus destroying certain crops and leading people to starve."
Second dream The young plants are bearing fruits.
Meaning: "When people begin to have short lifespan, young people will marry and have kids even when they are below 18 years old."
Mahārāja, imassā pi vipāko lokassa parihāyanakāle manussānaṁ parittāyukakāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi sattā tibbarāgā bhavissanti, asampattavayāva kumāriyo purisantaraṁ gantvā utuniyo ceva gabbhiniyo ca hutvā puttadhītāhi vaḍḍhissanti. Khuddakarukkhānaṁ pupphaṁ viya hi tāsaṁ utunibhāvo, phalaṁ viya ca puttadhītaro bhavissanti.
"Great King, as a result of this, when the world is declining, the lifespan of humans will decrease. In the future, beings will have strong desires, and young girls, not having found partners, will go to men out of season, and they will grow up with sons and daughters. Like the flowers of small trees, their youthfulness will be short-lived, and like fruits, their sons and daughters will be few."
Third dream The female cow feeds on the milk of her child.
Meaning: "When people stop respecting the elders, the parents will live with their children, for not having anyone to rely on."
Imassā pi vipāko anāgate eva manussānaṁ jeṭṭhāpacāyikakammassa naṭṭhakāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi sattā mātāpitūsu vā sassusasuresu vā lajjaṁ anupaṭṭhāpetvā sayam-eva kuṭumbaṁ saṁvidahantāva ghāsacchādanamattam-pi mahallakānaṁ dātukāmā dassanti, adātukāmā na dassanti. Mahallakā anāthā asayaṁvasī dārake ārādhetvā jīvissanti tadahujātānaṁ vacchakānaṁ khīraṁ pivantiyo mahāgāviyo viya. Itonidānam-pi te bhayaṁ natthi, catutthaṁ kathehi, mahārājāti.
This consequence will also occur in the future when respect for elders is lost among humans. In the future, beings will neither feel shame towards their parents nor their parents-in-law. They will only take care of their own households and will give even the bare necessities of food and clothing to the elderly only if they wish to, and will not give if they do not wish to. The elderly will live dependent on the goodwill of children, just as large cows live on the milk from calves born that very day. Because of this, they will have no protection.
Fourth dream A farmer is using young cows for transportation and abandons strong ones.
Meaning: "People will hire young, inexperienced people in certain jobs, especially judging crimes. Not being able to work well, the young people will quit the jobs and old people will not reapply for their previous jobs, which leads to the demise of a country."
Imassā pi vipāko anāgate eva adhammikarājūnaṁ kāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi adhammikakapaṇarājāno paṇḍitānaṁ paveṇikusalānaṁ kammaṁ nittharaṇasamatthānaṁ mahāmattānaṁ yasaṁ na dassanti. Dhammasabhāyaṁ vinicchayaṭṭhāne pi paṇḍite vohārakusale mahallake amacce na ṭhapessanti, tabbiparītānaṁ pana taruṇataruṇānaṁ yasaṁ dassanti, tathārūpe eva vinicchayaṭṭhāne ṭhapessanti, te rājakammāni ceva yuttāyuttañca ajānantā neva taṁ yasaṁ ukkhipituṁ sakkhissanti, na rājakammāni nittharituṁ. Te asakkontā kammadhuraṁ chaḍḍessanti, mahallakā pi paṇḍitāmaccā yasaṁ alabhantā kiccāni nittharituṁ samatthāpi: “Kiṁ amhākaṁ etehi, mayaṁ bāhirakā jātā, abbhantarikā taruṇadārakā jānissantī” ti {1.338} uppannāni kammāni na karissanti, evaṁ sabbathā pi tesaṁ rājūnaṁ hāni yeva bhavissati, dhuraṁ vahituṁ asamatthānaṁ vacchadammānaṁ dhure yojitakālo viya, dhuravāhānañca mahāgoṇānaṁ yugaparamparāya ayojitakālo viya bhavissati.
This consequence will also occur in the future during the time of unjust kings. In the future, unjust and poor kings will not honor the deserving officials, those skilled in ancestral knowledge, and those capable of completing tasks. In the court of law, they will not appoint wise and skilled elders as ministers, but will instead bestow honor upon the opposite type, appointing young and inexperienced individuals in their places. These inexperienced officials, ignorant of what is right and wrong, will neither be able to sustain their positions nor complete the king's tasks. Failing to manage their responsibilities, they will abandon their duties. The wise and capable elder ministers, though able to complete the tasks, will think, ''What use are these tasks to us? We are outsiders; the young insiders will know what to do,' and will not undertake the tasks that arise. Thus, the kings will invariably face decline, much like when calves are yoked to carry a heavy load or when a series of oxen fit for heavy labor are not yoked together."
Fifth dream The horse with two heads eats wheat from two different containers instead of eating together.
Meaning: Evil judges will take the bribery of both the defendant and the jurors, and they will decide the crimes however they want."
Imassā pi anāgate adhammikarājakāle yeva vipāko bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi adhammikā bālarājāno adhammike lolamanusse vinicchaye ṭhapessanti, te pāpapuññesu anādarā bālā sabhāyaṁ nisīditvā vinicchayaṁ dentā ubhinnam-pi atthapaccatthikānaṁ hatthato lañjaṁ gahetvā khādissanti asso viya dvīhi mukhehi yavasaṁ.
"This consequence will also occur in the future during the time of unjust kings. In the future, unjust and foolish kings will appoint greedy and unprincipled people to positions of judgment. These foolish individuals, disregarding good and bad deeds, will sit in court and make decisions while taking bribes from both parties involved in disputes, eating like a horse with two mouths."
Sixth dream People encourage a wolf to urinate on the golden cup.
Meaning: "Good people will not be respected or praised, thus reducing reputation. So, they have to make friends with bad people for the sake of their reputation."
6)Imassā pi vipāko anāgate yeva bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi adhammikā papi rājāno dhammika kulaputtānaṁ āsaṅkāya yasaṁ na dassanti, adhammika kulaputtānaṁ yeva dassanti. Evaṁ mahākulāni duggatāni bhavissanti, lāmakakulāni issarāni. Te ca kulīnapurisā jīvituṁ asakkontā: “Ime nissāya jīvissāmā” ti papi dhītaro dassanti, iti tāsaṁ kuladhītānaṁ papinehi saddhiṁ saṁvāso jarasiṅgālassa suvaṇṇapātiyaṁ passāvakaraṇasadiso bhavissati.
6)"This consequence will also occur in the future. In the future, unjust and wicked kings will not honor righteous noble sons due to distrust but will instead favor unrighteous noble sons. Thus, great families will fall into poverty, while inferior families will become powerful. Those noblemen, unable to sustain themselves, will say, 'We will live by depending on these people,' and will give their daughters in marriage to wicked men. Therefore, the association of noble daughters with wicked men will be like placing a golden bowl in front of an old jackal."
Seventh dream A man is making threads and places them near his legs. A hungry, female wolf tries to eat the thread without letting him know.
Meaning: "Women will not consider about the money their husbands have tiredly made. They will spend the money for clothes, food, drinks, jewelry and gambling without letting their husbands know."
Imassā pi anāgate yeva vipāko bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi itthiyo purisalolā surālolā alaṅkāralolā visikhālolā āmisalolā bhavissanti dussīlā durācārā, tā sāmikehi kasigorakkhādīni kammāni katvā kicchena kasirena sambhataṁ dhanaṁ jārehi saddhiṁ suraṁ pivantiyo mālāgandhavilepanaṁ dhārayamānā antogehe accāyikam-pi kiccaṁ anoloketvā gehe parikkhepassa uparibhāgena pi chiddaṭṭhānehi pi jāre upadhārayamānā sve vapitabbayuttakaṁ bījam-pi koṭṭetvā yāgubhattakhajjakādīni sampādetvā khādamānā vilumpissanti heṭṭhāpīṭhake nipannachātasiṅgālī viya vaṭṭetvā vaṭṭetvā pādamūle nikkhittarajjuṁ.
"This consequence will also occur in the future. In the future, women will be attached to men, alcohol, ornaments, streets, and material things. They will be immoral and of bad conduct. These women, after their husbands labor hard in agriculture, cattle-tending, and other work, will drink alcohol with lovers, wear garlands and perfumes, and ignore even urgent household duties. They will entertain lovers in their homes, through holes and cracks in the walls. They will use the seeds meant for the next day's planting to prepare porridge, rice, and snacks, thus depleting the household resources. They will squander the household wealth, rolling around like hungry jackals lying down on the ground, with the rope lying at their feet."
Eighth dream There is a large pot surrounded with other small pots. Although the large pot is overflowing, people come and pour water only into the large pot and no one pour water into the small pots.
Meaning: "People will experience poverty because of their evil leaders. They have to work hard for their leaders and not for their family which leads to starvation."
Imassā pi anāgate yeva vipāko bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi loko parihāyissati, raṭṭhaṁ nirojaṁ bhavissati, rājāno duggatā kapaṇā bhavissanti. Yo issaro bhavissati, tassa bhaṇḍāgāre satasahassamattā kahāpaṇā bhavissanti, te evaṁ duggatā sabbe jānapade attano va kamme kāressanti, upaddutā manussā sake kammante chaḍḍetvā rājūnaññeva atthāya pubbaṇṇāparaṇṇāni vapantā rakkhantā lāyantā maddantā pavesentā ucchukhettāni karontā yantāni karontā yantāni vāhentā phāṇitādīni pacantā pupphārāme ca phalārāme ca karontā tattha tattha nipphannāni pubbaṇṇādīni āharitvā rañño koṭṭhāgāram-eva pūressanti, attano gehesu tucchakoṭṭhe olokentā pi na bhavissanti, tucchakumbhe anoloketvā pūritakumbhe pūraṇasadisam-eva bhavissati.
"This consequence will also occur in the future. In the future, the world will decline, countries will be without protection, and kings will be unfortunate and impoverished. Whoever becomes a ruler, in their treasury will be only a hundred thousand coins. These unfortunate rulers in every country will engage in their own deeds, abandoning their responsibilities. Disturbed people will forsake their own tasks, instead plundering the treasures of kings, plundering and devouring, plundering and devouring, carrying away whatever they can find, cooking in their fires, making flower gardens and fruit orchards, picking the fruits and flowers as they bloom, and gathering treasures like the previous rulers' belongings, filling the king's palace as if it were their own. They will not even look at their own homes' empty vessels, but will fill full vessels.
Ninth dream Animals drink water from a large lake which is polluted around the centre and clean around the edge.
Meaning: "The future leaders will not be sympathetic to their citizens. They will force the citizens to pay a lot of taxes. Not being able to withstand the heavy tax, they will move to the countryside."