After night meals the king and queen got talking to their son, Prince Nandivardhan and the daughter, Princes Sudarshana. The parents gradually broke the news of the prophecy of Lord Rishabhdev to their children. They could not help sharing the blissful joy generated by the incident with their own flesh. The prince and the princess listened to the parents with an euphoric interest. It sounded so incredible. But the king and the queen were too sober persons to be doubted. The entire family babbled in joyous voices for a long time. The magnitude of the fact had turned them all four into four kids. The queen was certain that it would be impossible to get to sleep on that night.
The voice of Rishabhdev never had stopped ringing in her ears. Her mind made plans about how she was going to mother the divine child.
But incredibly she could not keep awake. She drifted into kaleidoscope of dreams. It was like a collage of divine scenes. One scene appeared to melt into another in a chain.
Queen Trishala saw Goddess Laxmi sitting on a blazing red lotus floating towards her. The sun behind her was creating a halo around her…then it changed into a moonlight night, the silver disc shedding soft and cool glow against the backdrop of starlit glittering sky…a white elephant of majestic beauty gracefully trundling along…out of the fading image of elephant a magnificent taurus walked out and transformed into a gigantic garland of divine flowers…a yellow flag rose on the horizon…a sliver flaggon floated in the air spilling rose water which evaporated into a vague fragrance of the spring…a jewel studded golden throne rocked in the air like a cradle…then it all dissolved into a sea of milky whiteness in which a pair of transparent fish noiselessly splashed around in synchronised display…at one point the fish turned into blue outlined flames…the flames rose from a high heap of precious stones flashing in red, yellow and blue colours…’
The dream of the Queen Trishala was expanding divine spectacle. Then she woke up. For a long time the scenes of the dream kept replaying in her mind. She felt flushed with joy as if she had made a long soft love. For the rest of the night waves of gentle joy kept caressing her body. Euphoria kept swathing her mind.
The queen was too excited to stay in her bed for long. Even before the day broke she left her bed and dashed towards the king’s chamber. The king was surprised to see her so early in the morning. It was not her usual custom. But then since yesterday all kinds of unusual things were happening.
Without any preamble the queen narrated her dream to the king remembering as many details as she could. Her dream filled the king with a luminous joy that set every cell of his body alight.
He said in a trembling voice, “Dear queen, all the signs are indicative of the Lord arriving into your womb very soon. Your body is being sanctified by some divine process. You must keep your mind clear of the evil thoughts and the body free of sins.”
“My lord,” the queen said and added, “I am also getting the same thoughts and feel the same way. A sense of piety is sweeping all through me. When I walk my feet don’t seem to touch the ground.”
“Have no doubts in your mind, queen. It is going to happen. Now go through your normal activities keeping the thoughts of the Lord in your mind,’’ the king advised. The queen was too happy and eagerly accepted his advice.
“In the royal court I will ask the astrologers to find the meaning of the dream you have seen,” the king announced to the departing queen.
The sun rose. On that day it was shining with extra brilliance without being too hot. No one noticed it except the king and the queen.
At appointed hour the royal court began its session. The priests, astrologers and religious scholars had already been asked to attend the court. The king had sent his messengers to them as soon as the queen had departed after revealing her dream. The king looked at the astrologers and the priests meaningfully. Then, he announced that he had a challenging task for them.
In the pindrop silence in the court, the king revealed the dream of the queen in as fine details as his memory could help. It was heard with great attention by the concerned people who were expected to interpret the meaning using their astrological talents.
For some time the court was filled with the sounds of murmurs and whispers as the priests, astrologers and scholars discussed the dream and exchanged their views. Several heads came together. The nodding heads indicated that a sure consensus was fast emerging. No head appeared to be shaking in dissent.
The king looked at the scene with great satisfaction and expectation. The royal family had deliberately not revealed their experience of the Nandan Kanan a day before. And for the time being royalty had decided to keep it a family secret.
At last a senior-most priest rose and spoke, “Your Majesty! We all agree that the dream is a clear pointer to a new member arriving in our royal family. It will be a son born to the queen.”
The king smiled at the priest. It was expected. Yet he asked, “So, I am going to sire one more child, a male. What would he be like?”
The priest looked at his fellow priests, scholars and astrologers as if seeking some approval. All of them nodded their heads signalling him to reveal what they all had calculated and concluded.
The priest said to the king, “Your Majesty! Our calculations are unanimous in the conclusion that your second son would be a great conqueror. But there is some astrological ambiguity here. He would either be a great warrior king, the conqueror of all the lands or he would be a messiah spreading the message of peace, love and compassion, thus conquering the hearts all over.”
The king nodded his head. He suitably rewarded the futurologists and the court session ended. The king was happy but thoughtful. The latter part of the prediction of his would-be-son becoming a saintly figure dampened his spirits. He would pray for his son to be an invincible warrior emperor of the all lands.
The king confided to the queen the prediction of the astrologers which made her ecstatic. It made no difference to her whether her son became a all conquering king or messiah of peace and non-violence. In both the cases her son was sure to earn glory.
