“As we saw in the last chapter, the dreams have a double meaning: They are the dreams that announce the birth of a universal emperor, but they also announce the birth of a Tirthankar. In other words, a Tirthankar is one who might have been an earthly king but became an ascetic instead. In this connection, it is important to note that a Tirthankar-to-be is always born into a family belonging to the Kshatriya varna, the social class of warriors and kings.” PatriarchyCasteism Book:Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society) Source: Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society)