Chapter 4: The Departure from the Maternal Womb
(1) It is said that seven days before the full moon of the month of Āsāḷha the people of the city of Kapilavatthu celebrated a great festival. For seven days, Queen Sirimahāmāyā adorned herself with fragrant perfumes and enjoyed the festivities. On the morning of the full moon day, the queen bathed and gave away alms worth four hundred thousand kahāpaṇas. After her meal, she undertook the Uposatha precepts and retired to her royal couch.
(2) In the early morning, the queen had a prophetic dream. In the dream, she saw the Four Great Kings lift her up on her couch and carry her to the Himavanta forest. They placed her on a great stone slab, sixty yojanas in size, beneath a great Sāla tree that was seven yojanas tall. Then, the celestial nymphs of the Four Great Kings came and invited her to bathe in the Anotatta Lake. They cleansed her body and anointed her with celestial perfumes. Near the lake was a silver mountain, and upon it stood a golden palace. The celestial nymphs invited the queen to rest in the golden palace, laying her down with her head facing east. Near the silver mountain was a golden mountain, and a white elephant was roaming upon it. The elephant descended from the golden mountain and ascended the silver mountain. In its trunk, the white elephant held a white lotus. It trumpeted loudly and entered the golden palace. It circumambulated the queen three times and then seemed to enter her womb through her right side.
It was at that moment that the Bodhisatta took conception.
(3) Thirty-two portents, beginning with the trembling of the world systems and ending with a brilliant light that pervaded all realms, appeared at that time, manifesting his great virtues. When morning came, the queen went to tell King Suddhodana about her dream. The king summoned the royal Brahmins to interpret it. The Brahmins made their predictions according to all the signs.
(4) While the queen was carrying the Bodhisatta in her womb, the Four Great Kings of this world-system stood guard with swords in hand. And not only the kings of this world-system, but the Four Great Kings of all ten thousand world-systems also came with swords in hand to protect and watch over the queen, the mother of a Buddha, until the full ten months had passed.
As for the Bodhisatta in the womb, he sat cross-legged, facing outwards towards his mother’s front, with his back to his mother’s back, unlike other beings.
(5) When the queen’s pregnancy was complete, she expressed a wish to travel to her parental home in the city of Devadaha. She went to ask permission from her husband, the king. The king gave his consent and commanded the royal ministers to prepare the road from the city of Kapilavatthu to the city of Devadaha. In the forenoon, on the full moon day of the month of Visākha, the queen bade farewell to her husband and traveled in a golden palanquin. She arrived at the Lumbinī Grove, which lies between the two cities of Kapilavatthu and Devadaha.
(6) When the queen saw the Sāla grove, her heart desired to enter and stroll through the forest. The royal ministers escorted her inside. The queen walked to the foot of a Sāla tree, and her heart desired to hold onto one of its branches, but she could not reach it with her hand. At that moment, the branch of the Sāla tree bent down for her to grasp. As the queen was holding the branch, the karmic winds of childbirth began to stir. The attendants, realizing what was happening, hung a curtain around her beneath the Sāla tree and withdrew. The deities of the ten thousand world-systems all assembled at that spot. The Bodhisatta then emerged from his mother’s right side, his body perfectly pure and beautiful. This took place in the year of the Dog, in the month of Visākha, on a Friday, the day of the full moon.
(7) At the moment of his birth, streams of hot and cold water descended from the sky to wash away the impurities of birth. Four great Brahmas from the Suddhāvāsa realms descended to receive the Bodhisatta in a golden net. The Four Great Kings then received him from the great Brahmas. The court ladies then received him from the Four Great Kings. The great being, descending from the hands of the court ladies, stood firmly on the earth on his two feet. A great Brahma held a white parasol over him. The deva king Suyāma fanned him with a yak-tail whisk. Another deva held the seven precious gems. Another held golden slippers. Another held the five articles of royal regalia. All of this was visible to human eyes.
(8) Facing north, the great being took seven steps and uttered the lion’s roar of a conqueror. He walked upon the earth as if walking through the air. His body, though unclothed, appeared as if adorned with robes and ornaments. Though a newborn infant, he had the appearance of a sixteen-year-old youth.
(9) On the day the great being was born, seven other beings or things also came into existence, known as the “co-natals.” They were: Princess Bimbā (Yasodharā), Prince Ānanda (son of Amitodana), the minister Channa, the minister Kāḷudāyī, the royal steed Kaṇṭhaka, the great Bodhi tree, and the four great treasures. One treasure, named Saṅkhanidhi, had a circular mouth one gāvuta in circumference. Another, Elanidhi, had a mouth half a yojana in circumference. Another, Upalanidhi, had a mouth three gāvutas in circumference. And another, Puṇḍarikanidhi, had a mouth one yojana in circumference. All four extended to the very bottom of the earth.
At that time, the nobles of both kingdoms were filled with joy and wonder. They escorted the great being and his mother back into the city of Kapilavatthu.
(End of Chapter 4: The Departure from the Maternal Womb)
