Part 6: Birth of Ajitanātha

Then at the command of Purandara (Śakra) women of the gods and asuras began to attend Queen Vijayā constantly and zealously. Vāyukumāra-women always removed dust, grass, sticks, etc., from all parts of the house of the mistress. Meghakumāra-women, like slave-girls, sprinkled the ground of the court-yard of her house with perfumed water. The goddesses of the season rained five-colored flowers, as if eager to give a respectful reception to the Lord in embryo. The women of the Jyotiṣkas brought light at pleasure and at the right time, knowing the wishes of the mistress. Forest-goddesses made festoons, etc., like slave-girls, and goddesses praised her in song, like women-bards. In this way Queen Vijayā was served daily by the goddesses, like their own chief deity or like a superior one.

Queen Vijayā and Queen Vaijayantī carried their embryos, like a mass of clouds the sun, like the earth a treasure. Naturally radiant, they were exceedingly radiant because of their embryos, like pools filled by golden lotuses in the center. Their lotus-faces, as light-colored as gold, became lighter, taking the color of a piece of ivory. Their eyes which extended to their ears naturally, became suddenly wide open like an autumn-lotus. Such loveliness of theirs increased very much suddenly, like the beauty of golden rods that have been polished. Though walking slowly before, the queens walked especially slowly like indolent rājahaṃsīs. Their embryos grew secretly, bestowing happiness, like lotus-stalks in rivers, like pearls in pearl-oysters.

When nine months, seven and a half days had passed, at an auspicious moment on the eighth day of the bright half of the month Māgha, the planets being in exaltation, (the moon being) in the constellation Rohiṇī, Vijayā bore a son marked with an elephant, like true speech bearing merit. Neither the Queen nor her son had any birth-pains, for that is the power of the Tīrthanāthas arising from their own nature. At that time there was a light in the three worlds for a moment, like the light from lightning that comes unexpectedly without a cloud. Then there was comfort for a moment even for hell-inhabitants, like comfort for travelers from shade at the arrival of a cloud. Then the heavens were serene like waters in autumn, and there was great rejoicing of the people like that of day-lotuses at dawn. An auspicious, favorable wind blew suddenly, creeping slowly, slowly over the earth, as if rising from the earth. Birds of omen appeared on all sides, indicating auspiciousness, for everything must be auspicious, not otherwise, at the birth of the pure-minded.