Trishala

Trishala also known as Queen Trishala, Mother Trishala, Trishala Devi, Priyakarini, or Trishala Mata was the Mother of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and wife of the Jain monarch, Siddartha of Kundgraam, of present day Bihar.

She finds mention in the classical Jain Agamas, the Kalpa sutra, written by Acharya Bhadrabahu (433 - 357 BC), which is primarily a biography of the Tirthankaras.

Contents

Life

Like her son Mahavira, Trishala was born into royalty. She was sister of Chetaka, republican president of Vaishali City.eldest daughter[›] Trishala had seven sisters, one of whom was initiated into the Jain monastic order while the other six married famous kings, including Bimbisara of Magadha and Mahavira's own brother, Nandivardhana. She and her husband Siddhartha were followers of Parshva, the 23rd Tirthankara. According to Jain texts, Trishala carried her son for nine months and seven and a half days during the 6th century BC. However, Svetambaras generally believe that he was conceived by Devananda, the wife of a Brahmin and was transferred to Trishala's womb by Indra because all Tirthankaras have to be Kshatriyas.

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.

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".

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.

References

[1] - FreeIndia.org
[2] - JainWorld [3]- Trishla Mata Temple Mahavirpuram

External links