Kalpasutra

Author(s): J Stevenson
Publisher: Oriental Translation Fund London

Page 86

54
KALPA SÚTRA.
awaked him out of his sleep. Thereon King Siddhartha graciously receiving her, commanded her to sit down on an elegant easy seat, adorned with gold and jewels; whence she, after being seated, thus in sweet accents addressed him :--- "O my lord, while I was this evening sleeping in my splendidly furnished apartments, I saw the following objects in a dream, viz., an elephant, a buli, &c. Tell me then, my lord, what good fortune and future happiness these fourteen dreams forebode." King Siddhartha, glad and delighted, after fully grasping with his mind, and reflecting again and again on the dreams, while he summoned up all his powers of intellect and reason, having comprehended their meaning, thus explained it to Triśalá :-"O beloved of the gods, thou hast seen a prospering, propitious, blessed dream, a dream that portends good fortune, and happiness that forebodes the birth of a royal son. In nine months and seven and a half days, thou wilt give birth to a heaven-descended son, who will become an ensign to our family, the lamp of our family, the family crown, the family frontal ornament*, the enricher of the family, the stay of the family, the sun of the family, the glory of the
* Tilaka, a lucky ornamental round mark Hindus make with a paste on their forehead.