Birth and Childhood of Lord Buddha

— Bhesh Jung Badal

In Nepal, at Taulihawa district, there was a very pleasant country named Kapilvastu in olden days. Round about 2500 years ago, that country was too much fair and prosperous.

At that time, a great heroic king of Shakya clan, Suddhoddan, ruled there. He had two queens named Maya Devi and Prajapati Gautami. He was a religious minded and people loving king. The Queens also were pious and benevolent.

Annually, in the month of Ashad (June-July), the country celebrated a festival. The people of the country, too, participated the festival gleefully and allured themselves in merry making.

At a certain time, Queen Maya Devi, accompanied by hundreds of attendants and maid-servants, also participated in the festival very gleefully. She participated this festival for seven days and ended it one day before the full moon of Ashad. In order to participate in this festival, she had decorated herself with various kinds of valuable clothes, ornaments, flowers, beads etc. Except taking liquers and hard drinks, she had enjoyed every variety of food-stuffs.

On the full moon day of Ashad, Queen Maya Devi woke up early in the morning. She bathed herself with scented water, wore holy dresses and offered gold and alms to the Brahmans and the depressed people. Adopting Uposatha fasting, she took rest in her decorated room and slept.

While sleeping, she felt herself dreaming. In the dream, she found the gods of four directions carrying herself towards the Himalaya mountain lifting up even her cot. The gods of four directions laid down the cot on a huge (seven hundred miles long) stone, Mahashila, under a seven-miles-tall Saal tree.

The consorts of these gods appeared and took Maya Devi to the divine lake, Anotapta, and got her bathed there. After this bath, the queen found to lose her human odour. After that these goddesses decorated the queen with divine dresses, ornaments and flower-beads. Then they took her to the nearest silver mountain where lay a golden vehicle (Kanak Viman). They laid down the cot in this vehicle making it to face east-ward.

At this time, Swetaketu, the lord of Tushita heaven, , descended from his abode taking the form of a white elephant. He emerged in that silver mountain loitering here and there.

Taking a white lotus in its trunk, the elephant entered into the golden vehicle, circumambulated Maya Devi’s cot three times and entered into her (Maya Devi’s) womb through her right armpit.

Afraid of the dream, Queen Maya Devi woke up from her sleep. She narrated all the events of dream to King Suddhodhan.

The king instantly invited sixty-four Bhrarnans to the palace, offered them rice pudding (made of milk), butter, sugar, honey etc. in golden bowels and gave them gold and silvers in charity. After that, the king recounted the queen’s dream to the Brahmans and asked them about its fruits.

In response to this query, the Brahmans expressed their opinion in this way: “O King, the dream is very much auspicious. One great being will be born from the womb of the queen. The child, if he remains ruling, will be a universal monarch. If he renounces the throne for a saintly purpose, he will attain supreme enlightenment.”

The king and queen were very much pleased to listen this answer. He gave order to arrange festivities throughout the country. In this way, the Bodhisatwa (future Buddha) entered into the womb of Maya Devi on the auspicious full moon day of Ashad.

At the time of this conception, thirty-two kinds of virtues also seemed to emerge in the world. The presiding deities of four directions also began to protect Maya Devi and his future child from this time onwards.

Since this day, King Suddhodhan got success in all his undertakings. The queen’s devotion towards religion also went on increasing. The queen never felt sexual lust from that time. In spite of being pregnant, the queen never felt her body heavy, nor tiredness overtook her ever. Not a single disease attacked her during the pregnancy period.

The child in the queen’s womb was about to complete ten months. At this time, Queen Maya Devi expressed her desire to visit her father’s home and made a request to the king in this context.

King Suddhodhan gave permission to the queen for visiting her father’s home. He also ordered to clean the path from Kapilvastu to Deva Daha (Maya Devi’s birth land) and to keep water-filled jars at different places.

On the full moon day of Baishakh, Queen Maya Devi sat upon a golden palanquin and departed towards her father’s home. The queen was escorted by the fanfare of armies and civil officers.

Amidst the way, there lay an extremely pleasant Saal grove named Lumbini. This was a grove where the princes and dignified personalities of the country often visited for pleasure and merry making. The queen, after reaching there, desired to take rest. So she alighted from the palanquin and entered into the grove accompanied by some of her friends and attendants.

A few moments afterwards, the queen experienced some kind of changes in her natural habit. She began to feel labour pain. Knowing this situation, the attendants surrounded the queen all around with new clothes. Queen Maya Devi took hold of a branch of the saal tree with her right hand. Supporting herself in this way, she gave birth to a son endowed with thirty-two virtues. At this hallowed moment, Maha Brahma descended from the heaven and took the child in a golden net.

At this very auspicious hour, the gods of heaven began to shower flowers from the sky along with rain drops. From the hands of Maha Brahma, the guardian deities took hold of the new born baby in a deer skin and from them the distinguished merchants of the country took hold in their soft clothes.

Descending from the hands of the merchants, the baby prince stood on the ground. Thereafter, he looked towards the east first of all. At this time, every nook and corner of the earth seemed like a huge plain.

The baby prince, then turned his eyes towards all the directions. At this time, he found no one who could surpass him in excellence. Then, turning his eyes towards the north, he marched seven steps forward and proclaimed, “I am the supermost being of this world.” At this moment. Maha Brahma covered the infant with white umbrella while Indra fanned him with fly whisks. The other gods, too, similarly assembled all around taking scimitar, slipper, whisks and other materials. This being the last of his births, Bodhisatwa descended upon the earth on the day of completing ten months. Thus he pursued the tradition of his predecessors while taking this birth.

In order to take this final birth, the Bodhisatwa had emerged into the earth many times. Among them the most important ones are the three births–as Pandit Mahasad, as Prince Biswantar and as Prince Siddhartha (this time). These three births are the most important ones because he had taken these births after his meeting with Dipankara Buddha when he had prayed to him for supreme enlightenment.

The other events that the earth experienced on this day were a great tremor and the emergence of (a) Princess Yashodhara Devi, (b) Charioteer Channa, (c) Minister (Amatya) Kalu Dai, (d) Elephant Mangal, (e) Horse Kanthaka, (f) Bodhi Tree, and (g) Four jars full of riches.

With the birth of this baby prince, the people of Kapilvastu and Deva Daha gathered at Lumbini grove and rejoiced it by merry making.

Queen Maya Devi, too, returned to Kapilvastu along with the baby prince and escorted by royal retinue.

“Bodhisatwa is born. He will attain supreme enlightenment meditating under the Bodhi tree”– this news was circulated in the heavenly abode. Taking this news as a happy augury, the gods began to arrange festivals and celebrations in the heaven. The great sage Kal Deval came to know of this augury when he was absorbed in Asta Samapati meditation. He had also been told in the heavenly abode how Suddhodhan’s virtuous son would turn the wheel of dhamma (religion) in the world. The gods were happy because they would be able to see the activities of this child in future.

Sage Kal Deval hastened to the Royal Palace of King Suddhodhan to pay his tribute to this glorious baby prince. After reaching there, he addressed:- “O king, I have come here to see your glorious son. I wish to pay my humble tribute to this son of ye.”

King suddhodhan brought the child before sage Kal Deval. At this time, the child stretched his feet towards the sage. The sage understood the symptoms. Without taking any pride in heart, he bowed to me child with the words:- “This child is the supermost of all human being in the world”

Seeing such a moving event, King Suddhodhan also bowed his head at his son’s feet and thus payed his first tribute.

After paying his tribute, Kal Deval contemplated on the future of the baby prince. Contemplating this child as a rare indNibual (pudgala) who would win Buddhahood in future, he smiled very gently.

A few moments afterwards, his eyes were brimmed with tears. The reason for the tears was that he would not be able to listen to the words of this child when he would have attained enlightenment. He would have left his mortal coil in order to take birth in formless abode (Arup Loka).

King Suddhodhan was frightened to see tears on the eyes of the sage. He felt that the sage might have seen something wrong in the child’s future. Hence, bowing his head towards the sage he asked ” Oh holy teacher, what makes your eyes to shed tears? Does it mean that something very terrible will come to pass to this child in future.”

In response to this question, the sage told: “Oh King, there is nothing to fear about the future of this child. The child will surely become the Buddha in future. He will teach the path leading to the cessation of suffering. This is the path which I am seeking up till now. I am unfortunate because I have become old. I would not be in the world when the child will attain enlightenment and teach this path. Thus, I woud be not be able to learn this path from him in this life. I would have born in the formless abode (arup loka) on that time. This makes my eyes to shed tears.”

Sage Kala Deval then contemplated if there is anyone in his family lineage who would get the golden opportunity to learn this path from the mouth of the Buddha. While contemplating in this way, he found that his nephew Nalaka would get such an opportunity. So he hastened to his sister’s house and met his nephew Nalaka. Kal Deval then told to his nephew Nalak: “Dear nephew, in the family lineage of King Suddhodhan, a child endowed with thirty-two virtues has been born. The child is sure to become the Buddha, the all enlightened one. After attaining enlightenment, he will teach the path for ending the sufferings of life. ) am leaving this mortal coil within near future and would not be able to learn this path from him. You are fortunate enough to learn this path from him. From today onwards, you renounce this world in the name of this child and become a recluse.”

On listening these words of Kal Deval, Nalaka abandoned the riches of eighty hundred four millions and left home from that moment. Taking vow in the name of the future Buddha, he departed towards the Himalayas and spent his life in the practice of penance and austerities.

Nalaka reached to the Shakya prince after he had become the Buddha, listened his teachings on Nalakabad and returned to the Himalayas again. Contemplating on these teachings bf the Buddha, he also attained enlightenment.

On the 5th day of his son’s birth, King Suddhodhan invited 108 Brhamans to the royal palace for naming the new born prince. These Bhramans, well versed on three Vedas, were served sumptuous dishes. After serving these dishes, King Suddhodhan asked them about the name to be given to the child. Among these Brhamans, Ram ,Dhoj, Lakshman, Mantic, Kaudinya, Bhoj, Shyam, Sudat were the prominent ones, well conversant with astrology too.

The Brahmans inspected the physical symptoms of the Shakya prince. Among them seven Brahmans, excepting Kaudinya, lifted two fingers and said, “0 King, there are two things that are to be taken into consideration. If the child lives a household life, he will become a universal monarch. If he renounces this world, he would become an all enlightened one. There is nothing to doubt about it.”

The youngest Brahman, Kaudinya, on the other hand, lifted only one finger and told, “0 King, this child will not confine himself within household affairs. He will definitely become the Buddha, the great teacher of both gods and human beings.” With these words, the Brahmans decided to name the prince “Sarbartha Siddha” or the all accomplished one, in short, Siddartha.

When King Suddhodhan listened the words of Kaudinya, he experienced joy and sorrow at the same time. He experienced joy because his son was sure to become the all-knowing Buddha, the teacher of the entire world. Similarly he experienced sorrow because his only son would be renouncing the throne without maintaining the tradition of his family lineage.

King Suddhodhan wanted that his son may become a universal monarch in lieu of renouncing the world. So he wished to confine his son within the pleasure gardens of the palace.

Queen Maya Devi passed away on the seventh day of his son’s birth. After has passing away, she took birth in the Tushita heaven as its lordess. From this time onwards, Prince Siddhartha was brought up under the tutelage of her aunt Prajapati Gautami.

It was again the month of Ashad. The country was on a mood to celebrate its annual festival as usual by planting paddy. The country was adorned on all around. The inhabitants of country, including all the merchants, assembled for the festival. They were all in white dress and seemed as if the pearl flowers have bloomed and blossomed all through the country. The horns of the oxen, to be ploughed by King Suddhodha, was covered up with gold sheets. The king, taking his son Siddartha, went to the field accompanied by royal officials and merchants. All of them had put on white dresses.

At a certain corner of the field stood a Jamuna tree. The king arranged his son to stay under this tree attended by his maids. Thereafter he went towards the field and participated in the paddy plantation festival by ploughing his oxen. In this way, the king lost himself in merry making and festivities like all other merchants and officers.

The paddy plantation festival was being looked upon by a large gathering of the people with keen interest. The attendants of Prince Siddartha also could not resist their temptation. Hence, leaving the prince alone, they, too, hastened towards the field. In the mean time, the prince rose from his sleep, sat in a lotus posture and absorbed himself in trance.

After a certain hours, the attendants remembered the prince under the tree and hastened towards him. On their return, they found him absorbed in trance. They were frightened and went to report this news to the king. At this time, the shadow of the tree above the prince was giving its shade to the prince as before while the shades of all other trees had changed their direction because of passing of the noon.

Listening the news of attendants, the king hastened to the tree. He found his son meditating under it while the tree was giving its shade to the prince without changing its direction. This made King Suddhodhan to be amazed and, hence, he prostrated before his son. And this was his second tribate which King Suddadhan had payed to his son.

May 5 , 2023

Photo : Lumbini Devt . Trust