At the foot of the Himalayas, just across the border from India in present-day Nepal, Queen Maha Maya rested with her royal retinue in the park of Lumbini near Kapilavatthu, as she was on her way to her parental hometown Devadaha. It was here, in this place, where a noble prince was born, a man who was destined once the most exalted religious leader in the to be world. The birth took place during the full moon in the month May (Vesakha) of the year 623 BC. Queen Maha Maya gave birth to her son already standing under a flowering Sala tree.
The tribe into which he was born was that of the Sakyas, a heroic warrior tribe. His name was Siddhatta (Sanskrit: Siddharta), which means 'wish fulfilled'. This name became given to him because the king's counsel, Asita aka Kaladevala, predicted that the royal child would become a Buddha. The father of the prince was called Suddhodana; he was the king of the Sakyas. King Suddhodana had two wives: Queen Maha Maya and her sister Maha Pajapati Gotami. Their family name was Gotama. Seven days after the birth of Siddhatta his mother Maha Maya died; her sister Maha Pajapati Gotami had her promised to further educate Siddhatta.
| Author: Peter van Loosbroek -- Ananda Copyright: www.sleuteltotinzicht.nl/glb_copyright.htm |