________________
Svayambhūstotra
Lord Mallinātha
The Ahamindra in Aparājita (anuttara) super-heaven was at the end of his 33 sāgaropama life of great glory, happiness and contentment. Saudharma Indra, the lord of the first heaven, knew through his clairvoyance (avadhijñāna) that only 6 months of the long life of the Ahamindra were now remaining and that he was destined to take birth as the nineteenth Tīrthankara in Mithilāpuri town of the Bharata region. He reckoned that the Tīrthankara would grace the earth by entering the womb of Queen Prajāvatī, wife of King Kumbha. He ordered Kubera to proclaim the coming of the Lord of the three worlds to the people of Mithilāpurī. Kubera spruced up the town and started raining down choice gems in the royal palace of King Kumbha. The inhabitants of the town were extremely joyed to watch this extraordinary phenomenon.
After six months, one night, Queen Prajāvati dreamt the most auspicious sixteen dreams heralding the coming of the Lord of the Lords, Bhagavān Mallinātha on this earth. The devas came down to rejoice and celebrate the garbha kalyāņaka of the Lord. Kubera continued to rain down gems in the royal palace of King Kumbha for the next nine months.
Nine months later, on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Mārgaśīrṣa - magasira śukla ekādaśī – the devas and devīs descended again from the heavens to join men and women to celebrate the birth of the Tīrthankara Child (janma kalyāņaka). This grand occasion arrived after 1,000 crore years plus 29,000 years of the birth of the eighteenth Tīrthankara, Lord Aranātha. The Divine Child was endowed with three kinds of knowledge - sensory knowledge, scriptural knowledge, and clairvoyance.
The Divine Child grew to a height of 25 dhanuşa.
When the Lord had attained 100 years of age, King Kumbha decided to marry his worthy Son to Jagatrati, the most beautiful daughter of King Bhūpāla. The town was beautifully adorned and
202
