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14
Four dreams of Kausalyā and Seven dreams of Sumitrā
While Daśaratha and his queens were living joyfully at Rajagrhi, a noble soul from the fifth celestial world descended the word of Queen Kausalya in the last hours of night, she saw an elephant, a lion, a moon and a sun, in a dream. When she informed Daśaratha about the dream, he was overjoyed. He told Kausalyā, "Devi ! a women who sees these four auspicious signs delivers Baladeva, the best amongst men. Your virtues in the past reincarnations have made this thing possible." Kausalya too was overjoyed. Then onwards, she remained very alert for the wellbeing of her baby.
This time there was greater celebration and revelry. King Daśaratha organised Snatra-mahotsava, and eight types of pujas in the abodes of Lord Arihanta. The prisoners were released from jails.
After nine months she delivered a son with all the favourable marks, resembling a white lotus in complexion. The king rejoiced exceedingly at the sight of his first son, like the ocean, at the sight of the full moon. The baby was named Padma which means a lotus. Later on he became famous as the most illustrious Rāma. The overjoyed Daśaratha generously gave alms to the poor and received their blessings.
The children began to grow up like a growing moon. Initially, the children slept most of the time but as they grew up, they won every heart with their innocence and impish pranks. Their flawless complexion, radiant faces, curly hair had a magnetic appeal. The children were always found playing with one vassal or the other. Blessed indeed were the parents and everyone else who played with these children, for they weren't ordinary children. They were the souls who were to walk on the path of emancipation.
Probably, joy is the only thing in the world which increases thousand times when it is shared. The citizens of Rajagrhi broke into spontaneous revelry. They began to dance, sing and play melodies. They sprinkled water mixed with saffron, musk and sandalwood paste on each other. They distributed sweets. Every home was decorated so beautifully that soon Rajagrhi surpassed the divine cities Alkāpuri and Amravati in granduer. The inhabitants of these cities felt pangs of jealousy, but they too overcame it and began festive in their own domains. Infant Rama had the soothing fair complexion like a moon.
After sometime, the soul of a affluent diety left his abode and descended the womb of Sumitrā. She saw an elephant a lion, sun, moon, fire, Lakşmi and ocean in a dream. When she asked the interpretation of this dream to her husband, Emperor Dasaratha, he was elated. He said, "blessed indeeded is your womb, for, you are about to conceive a son, who would be the master of three great lands. He would be a vasudeva." When Sumitrā heard this, she was overjoyed.
Gradually, the children reached teenage. They excelled in different branches of education and mastered various arts. The lads, through the virtue accumulated in their former births, mastered the various arts and sciences. The tutors were just a medium for imparting the knowledge. When they crossed their teens, they became so vigorous that with one mighty blow could turn a mountain into a pile of dust. Sometimes purely out of mischief, they would pluck the strings of their bows, which produced such a resonant sound that the hearts of the people struck with terror. King Dasaratha was so much influenced by their muscle power and archery that he would very often think, "My young sons are capable of defeating both dieties and demons. Ravana too will be vanquished if he dares to attack me. Its now time to return to Ayodhya." He finally returned to his very own Ayodhyā. The joy of his subjects knew no bounds; when they saw their beloved king and his family. They were especially happy when they saw young Rama and Laksmana. This is
In the due course, she too delivered a baby boy having a bluish complexion. He was named Nārāyana, but later he became famous as Laksmana.
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