#virgin conception

Conception of the Buddha - Queen Maya's Dream. Medallion on stupa gate railing, red sandstone, Bharhut, Shunga period, 100-50 BCE

Queen Maya conceives the Buddha in an auspicious dream of an elephant; from Bharhut  -  Image: : columbia.edu 

Maya's Dream: The virgin conception of the Buddha

“This carving of the Dream of relates when the Buddha's mother had a dream about that a white elephant entering her body. This is the moment of the Buddha's conception. The sleeping queen is surrounded by three attendants, one of whom flicks a chauri. A water-pot is placed near the head of the bed; at its foot is an incense-burner. The theme of the virgin conception of the Buddha was repeated for many centuries, and was also an important theme in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.

Because, when you think about it, it is true that these four (similar in their own religious context) figures were all born of a miraculous virgin conception. Jesus with Mary, of course, but also Siddharta Gautama (Buddha) with Maya Devi, and Mithra with "Anahita the Immaculate One", and Krishna with Devaki.

Some skeptics claim the stories of Jesus’ virgin conception and miraculous resurrection were borrowed from earlier pagan myths. But is that really true?