Notes Buddhism and Gandhara Civilization

Abstract

More than two thousand five hundred years ago Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born to the Shakya King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of Kapilavastu. It was on the full moon of May at Lumbini forest, on the way to the queen’s parents’ home in Devadaha. All these places are in present day Nepal. Early in life Siddhartha showed a reflective turn of mind but was nevertheless trained as a Kshatriya prince in archery and other martial arts. At the age of 16 he won an archery contest and married princess Yasodhara of Devadaha. In an effort to forestall a prediction that Siddhartha would renounce the world and become a seeker of truth, King Suddhodana surrounded his son with luxury, with music, games, dances and the good life. Any contact with misery or sorrow was kept out of his way. One day, while riding in his chariot he encountered the four great sights: a decrepit old man, a sick man, a dead man being carried to a cremation ground, and finally a serene dignified recluse in yellow garb. These sights strengthened Siddhartha’s resolve to seek and find the cause of suffering and the cessation of suffering, for the liberation of all mankind. At the age of 29 he decided to renounce his life of luxury and even his wife, and his new born son whom he called Rahula, meaning the Fetter.