Bhagvana Mahavira

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 25

Thirty Years of Family Life
odour its body emitted.
The child was born at a wonderful moment. The breeze was mild and pure. It blew soft. It was spring. The woods were articulate and the trees had become laden with new leaves. It was the thirteenth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Caitra. It was the time of midnight. The portents were auspicious. The planets stood high. Nature greeted the birth of the child with all her cheerfulness and grandeur. (See horoscope in the appendix)
The darkness of the night disappeared and rays of the sun brightened every particle of the earth. Nature began to appear neat and clean. At this sacred hour, Siddhārtha was informed by a slave girl that the queen had been delivered of a son. The king's heart began to throb with joy which knew no bounds. He rewarded the slave girl with invaluable presents and accorded to her the status of a free citizen for ever. This emancipation of the slave girl was a symbol of the charity the new-born prince was to practise in the future.
The king called the Chief Minister and ordered him to celebrate the happy birth of the prince in the most befitting manner. The king's mind was filled with great expectations. and new aspirations. The capital was profusely decorated and prisoners were ordered to be released from the prison as is done on such occasions. The happy occasion was to be celebrated with all pomp and show and gaiety. The king expressed the wish that all commodities should be sold in the market at cheaper prices and that the poor should be fed free. The shopkeepers were to be compensated for the loss they would suffer. The Minister was miserly, but looking to the occasion he agreed with the king. The king's wish was announced to the citizens in no time to their great pleasure. The whole day was spent by the people in joyous festivities. The celebrations lasted for seven days to the great comfort of the poor.