Maya's Dream

Maya's Dream

Queen Maya fell asleep as soon as she lied on her bed. It was a full-moon night and the moon was shining brightly upon her through the balcony. It seemed as if the moon were bestowing blessings upon her. Suddenly she saw a bright white light emerging from nowhere. It overshadowed her vision and it felt like she was looking at the ocean of milk. ‘A beautiful dream!’

As the white light began fading away, she saw four beautiful faces staring at her. Four men were standing there smiling. She sat up. They had worn rich and shiny clothes and their bodies were almost covered with gold. The messengers of God or perhaps the demigods, she thought. At the next moment, she felt herself floating up and a flow of milk fell slowly upon her body. The milk smelt like a sandalwood. She was being bathed in the milk of sandalwood. Those four demigods moved their hands in air and golden glittering particles appeared and collided into her clothes. After a blissful chime, her clothes were transformed into heavenly white clothes. For a moment, she kept looking at her own beauty. Her new clothes were scented with a mesmerising fragrance which she had never smelt before. It seemed as if it were made in heaven.

Then she stood up and looked around. She could see the beautiful night and the complete moon gazing back at her. But the city of Kapilvastu seemed too far and down, as if she were floating in one of the clouds. She turned at one of the demigods and asked in surprise, “Where am I?”

“In your sweetest dream, your majesty,” the demigod smiled.

Queen Maya walked further directionless. She saw something bright coming toward her. It was white and big. As she cleared her vision, she realized that it was a giant white elephant walking toward her. She stepped back in fear. But somehow her fear faded away as she saw the beauty of that elephant. It was not ordinary. White elephants are never ordinary. However it had six tusks. This was the prettiest elephant she had ever seen in her life. Besides, the elephant was carrying a white lotus in its trunk.

“Is that Airavat?” she asked one of the demigods.

“It’s your fate,” one of the demigods replied in a chiming voice.

The elephant stopped and kept staring at the queen. She also kept looking at it, unable to understand how to react. But the elephant made a move and bowed to the queen. Surprised by seeing so well-trained elephant, she bowed in response too. The elephant suddenly grabbed her hands with its trunk. Queen Maya was shocked. Her eyes fell wide open. She gazed at its face and it shook its head. The elephant loosened its grasp on the lotus and it fell on the queen’s palm. As soon as the lotus touched her skin, it gleamed like a celestial object.

“I don’t understand. What is it?” she murmured in bewilderment.

“It’s the boon,” the demigod replied.

“The boon?”

“The greatest boon of the supreme lord,” the demigod said.

“But what kind of boon?”

“Just accept it, your majesty! You’ll understand soon.”  

Queen Maya accepted the lotus and bowed to the elephant again. A white light appeared before her vision again and that white elephant walked into her womb. She could see a white light gleaming in her womb.

Nine months after Queen Maya saw this dream, she gave birth to a beautiful son named ‘Siddhartha’, who later became known as Gautam Buddha. In Jainism, Mahavir Swami’s birth mother, Trishala, also saw 16 auspicious dreams during her pregnancy.