Part 2: Birth of Anantavīrya

Now, the soul of Śrīvijaya fell from Susthitāvarta and descended into the womb of Queen Anuddharā. During the last part of the night Queen Anuddharā saw seven dreams entering her mouth as she slept. The first of these was a young lion with a saffron colored mane, his nails like digits of the moon, his tail like a chauri; Padmā, seated on a lotus, being sprinkled with water from the Ocean of Milk by two elephants holding pitchers in their trunks; a sun, destroying dense darkness, causing day even at night, with a stream of intense brilliance; next, a pitcher filled with clear, sweet water, its mouth adorned with white lotuses, with golden bells and a wreath of flowers; then an ocean, crowded with various aquatic animals, shining with its burden of jewels, with waves reaching to the sky; then a heap of jewels, which had the beauty of a rainbow spread in the sky with the streams of light of five-colored jewels; and the seventh, a smokeless fire, which made the sky have shoots of flame, its appearance giving pleasure to the eyes—these were the seven.

The queen arose from sleep and related the dreams to her husband. He told the fruit of the dreams, “Your son will be a Viṣṇu.”

At the proper time the queen bore her son, a festival for the eye, dark as the petal of a blue lotus, like the sky bearing a rain-cloud. The king gave the name Anantavīrya to Anuddharā’s son, who had great power, at a great festival.