seven and a half days, in the first month of summer, in the second fortnight, the dark (fortnight) of Kaitra, on its fourteenth day, [while all planets were in their exaltations, the moon in her principal conjunction, and the sky in all its directions clear, bright, and pure; while a favourable and agreeable low wind swept the earth; at the time when the fields were green and all people glad and amusing themselves] in the middle of the night while the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni--(Trisala), perfectly healthy herself, gave birth to a perfectly healthy boy. (96)

End of the Fourth Lecture.

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Footnotes

^239:1 Vadimsaya (avatamsaka) is here rendered by sekhara.

^241:1 Pentapetes Phoenicea.

^242:1 Gala, windows formed by flat stones which are perforated so as to produce a network of more or less intricate design.

^243:1 Gosirsha is a superior kind of sandal.

^245:1 Balikarman.

^245:2 Payakkhitta = prayaskitta. The commentators explain it by padakhupta, touching their feet in order to avoid the wicked eye.

^247:1 Or a life annuity.

^248:1 Gambhaya = Grimbhaka; what they are is not said in the commentaries.

^249:1 I.e. 'the increasing one' not as we should expect, and Stevenson translated, the Increaser.

^250:1 The whole passage is in some disorder; for the subject is she (Trisala) and the object is 'boy,' yet 'the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira' is also put in the nominative. It seems that the author or the copyists added the three words Samane Bhagavam Mahavire because they usually followed the beginning: tenam kalenam tenam samaenam. The same disorder occurs in all corresponding passages which we shall meet with later on.

^251:1 The passage in brackets seems to be a later addition; for it is wanting in my oldest MS., and the commentator says that it was not seen in many books. The occurrence of the astrological term exaltation (ukka = ypsuma) in this passage proves it to be inserted after 300 A.D. For about that time Greek astrology had been introduced in India, as I have shown in my dissertation: De Astrologiae Indicae 'Hora' appellatae originibus, Bonn, 3872.

^251:2 Cf. Akaranga Sutra II, 5, section 6.

Life of Mahavira, Lecture 5

In that night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira was born, there was a divine lustre originated by many descending and ascending gods and goddesses, and in the universe, resplendent with one light, the conflux of gods occasioned great confusion and noise. (97)

In that night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira was born, many demons in Vaisramana's

service belonging to the animal world, rained down on the palace of king Siddhartha one great shower of silver, gold, diamonds, clothes, ornaments, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, garlands, perfumes, sandal, powder, and riches. (98)