It is a well-established convention that the Tirtharnkaras, being supermen, are born only in the noble warrior (Ksatriya) caste. Bhagavan Mahavira was,however, conceived in the womb of a Brahmin lady at midnight on the sixth day of the bright half of Asadha, as a result of his pride for superior caste in one of his previous births. Saudharma (Indra), the Lord of gods, wanted to avert this and hence hecommanded god Hari-naigamesin to transplant the foetus from the womb of Devananda to the womb ofTrisala, the queen of Siddhartha, in the city of Ksatriyakunda audio do vice-versa.
The mothers of would-be Tirtharnkaras witness fourteen auspicious objects in their dreams. Devananda also saw them in her dreams and on waking up she narrated her dreams to her husband Rsabhadatta. The learned Brahmin said to her : "0 beloved of gods, a son, endowed with all virtues and valour, will be born to thee."