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parents on the maternal as well as the paternal side (in this order !).57 In the case of the former, both his mothers (on whom more below) see already in the Siddhanta58 fourteen dreams with auspicious images, such as are typical of the Jaina religion, viz. static ones. Besides, the wealth of the royal family increased,59 even by the discovery of moneypots that had been hidden in former days and then forgotten.60 This too, I think, may be characteristic of Jains as well as Buddhists, 61 the laity of both mainly belonging to the third, or merchant (vaisya) class. Unlike Buddhist literature, however, Jaina texts mention that Queen Tisalā had dohadas,62 but omit the details usual in narrative texts.
We now come to the Bodhisatta's mother, whom we only know as such, i.e. as Māyā, just as his wife is called Rahula-mata. At the descent of her child, the Tipitaka tells us only that she did not think of men, not even of her husband,65 yet otherwise indulged in the pleasures of the five senses. 66 In the likewise pre-Christian Mahāvastu, Brahmă prophesies to Māyā the birth of an elephant among men, and she welcomes this message since she has conceived from her husband. In the Mahāvastu and the Lalitavistara, but not in the Nidānakathā and in Asvaghosa, this elephant comes to have six tusks 67 - probably an intended one-upmanship of its fellow Airāvata, deva-rājā Indra's mount, who possesses only four tusks. In her dream it touches her right side 68 and seems to enter her womb. On that occasion, Māyā's husband is not mentioned, in other words, he is excluded.69 This pregnancy dream
57 Kappa $18, cf. DighaN I 115,5. 58 Kappa Jinac $4. 59 Kappa &91. 60 Kappa $89. 61 Cf. Ja I 54,7 where among the Bodhisatta's co-natals four nidhi kumbhas are
mentioned. 62 Kappa $95. According to the Jains dohadas appear in the third month (Caillat
1974:51), yet they are not mentioned of Devananda. 63 Oldenberg 1881/1959: 105 and von Glasenapp 1936: 21 take Māyā to be a proper
name meaning 'Wundermacht' and are not bothered by the oddity of such a name. With it, Senart (1881: xxvi) associated "des attaches supra-terrestres" (cf. p. 275). - In the Tipitaka, Māyā only occurs as a nominative: Bhagavato Suddh'-odano rājā
pitā Māyā devi mātā, DN II 52,10; Th 534 etc. 64 See Windisch, 1908: 140 and, e.g. Thomas n.d.: 81. The tendency to designate
female "Respektspersonen" in a religious context as 'mother', whose devotees then are her children, is found up to the present day, e.g. regarding Sri Aurobindo's wife, Jillellamudi Amma in Bapatla (Guntur), Yogini Ammajī near Trichur (Kerala),
Anandamayī Mā in Bhadaini (Benares) etc. 65 For this detail see Jolly 1901 $40 and, c.g. Neumann 1962: 52. 66 DN II 12 sq.; MN III 122 sq. 67 See Lüders 1941: 52. 68 Printz 1925: 125 stresses the fact that the indication "right" only appears at Ja I
50,22 (Māyā's dream). See also Lüders 1941: 45 sqq. 69 Ibid., 95.