Queen Trishala

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Trishala also known as Queen Trishala, Mother Trishala, Trishala Devi, Priyakarini, or Trishala Mata was the Mother of Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara.

1 Life
2 Dreams
3 Legacy
4 Content Notes
5 References

[edit] Life

Trishala was a member of the Kshatriya (warrior) caste, the same caste as the mother of the Buddha. Like her son Mahavira, she was born into royalty. She was the eldest daughter of Chetaka, the King of the republic of Vaishali.^{eldest daughter[›]} Trishala had seven sisters, one of whom was initiated into the Jain order of ascetics while the other six married famous kings, including King Bimbisara of Magadha and Mahavira's own brother, Nandivardhana. She and her husband King Siddharth of Kundgraam were followers of Parshvanath, the 23rd Jain Tirthankar. According to Jain texts, Trishala carried her son for nine months and seven and a half days during the sixth century BC. However, Shvetambars generally believe that he was conceived by the Devananda, the wife of a Brahmin and was transferred to Trishala's womb by Indra because all Tirthankars had to be Kshatriyas.

[edit] Dreams

According to the Jain scriptures, Trishala had fourteen dreams after the conception of her son.^{conception[›]} In the Digambara sect of the Jaina religion, there were 16 dreams. After having these dreams she woke her husband King Siddharth and told him about the dreams. The next day Siddharth summoned the scholars of the court and asked them to explain the meaning of the dreams. According to the scholars, these dreams meant that the child would be born very strong, courageous, and full of virtue.

Dream of an elephant
Dream of an bull
Dream of an lion
Dream of Laxmi
Dream of flowers
Dream of a full moon
Dream of the sun
Dream of a large banner
Dream of a silver urn
Dream of a lake filled with lotuses
Dream of a milky-white sea
Dream of a celestial vehicle
Dream of a heap of gems
Dream of a fire without smoke
Dream of a pair of fish (Digambara)
Dream of a throne (Digambara)

[edit] Legacy

Today members of the Jain religion celebrate the event of the Dreams. This event is called Swapna Darshan and is often part of “Ghee Boli”.

[edit] Content Notes

^ eldest daughter: According to the Jain Shwethambar sect Trishala was the sister of Chetaka and her sisters were instead her nieces.

^ conception: According to the Jain Shwethambar sect, a Brahmin woman named Devananda was the first one to give birth to the son. After she held the son in her stomach, the fetus was then transplanted into Trishala. Jain Digambara sect does not believe that the son was ever held by Devananda.