Trishala

Trishala
Mother of last Tirthankara
Kalpa Sūtra miniature of Queen Trishala (bottom) and her auspicious dreams, c. 1472.
Spouse	Siddhartha
Parents	Chetaka (father)

Trishala also known as Queen Trishala, Trishala Devi, Priyakarini, or Trishala Mata (Mother Trishala) was the mother of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and wife of the Jain monarch, Siddartha of Kundgraam, of present-day Bihar.

She finds mention in the classical Jain Agamas, the Kalpa sutra, which is primarily a biography of the Tirthankaras.

Like her son Mahavira, Trishala was born into royalty. She was daughter of Chetaka, republican president of Vaishali City. As per Indologist Hermann Jacobi, Vardhaman Mahavira's mother Trishala was sister of Chetaka. His third wife, Kshema, was a daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab. Trishala had seven sisters, one of whom was initiated into the Jain monastic order while the other six married famous kings, including Bimbisara of Magadha and Mahavira's own brother, Nandivardhana. She and her husband Siddhartha were followers of Parshva, the 23rd Tirthankara. According to Jain texts, Trishala carried her son for nine months and seven and a half days during the 6th century BC. However, Svetambaras generally believe that he was conceived by Devananda, the wife of a Brahmin and was transferred to Trishala's womb by Indra because all Tirthankaras have to be Kshatriyas.

According to the Jain scriptures, the mother of Tirthankaras see a number of auspicious dreams when the embryo is enliven through the descent of the life (soul) in the mortal body. This is celebrated as Garbha Kalyanaka. According to the Digambara sect, the number of dreams is 16. While the Śvētāmbara sect believe them to be only fourteen. After seeing these dreams, she woke her husband King Siddhartha and told him about the dreams. The next day Siddhartha summoned the scholars of the court and asked them to explain the meaning of the dreams. According to the scholars, these dreams meant that the child would be born very strong, courageous, and full of virtue.