Parabels of Mahavir

Author(s): Harindranath Chattopadhyaya
Publisher: Shri Kiran Publishers

Page 20

[7]
" O King ! he who is about to come will be a god, a god in every sense of the word ! He who is about to come into the world is the Lord of Bounty, Vardhamana, for whom it has been waiting for a long long time"
The babe within the womb heard what the astrologer said. He did not move inside, since he did not wish to disturb his mother; he did not want to trouble her, moving from side to side in the womb. He lay still, very still for one hour, two hours, three hours, and then, the queen, who waited anxiously for her babe to stir inside, began to get nervous. She thought the babe was dead. She sobbed loudly; the king sobbed, too; and, with them, sobbed Nandivardhan, the prince; and Sudarshana, the princess. The rumour spread like wild fire; and the whole kingdom sobbed along with the royal family. Even Nature sobbed-she who had, only a while ago, shown her joy through birds that started singing; and fields which laughed a lavish green laughter; and stars which peeped through the palace .-roof to see the queen resting on a soft silken bed; and clouds which poured and poured and fed the harvests when they heard the news of the fourteen dreams which had entered the queen who was shortly going to be a mother. .: The babe inside the womb saw clearly the picture of the world since he was a divine babe. He saw the sky and the ocean and the earth; he knew every star and grain of sand by heart. He