The Childhood of Buddha

When Mahamaya felt that the time has come for the birth of the child, she decided to visit her maternal home as per the ancient Kolyan tradition. Queen Mahamaya was the princess of the neighboring Kolyan kingdom of Devdaha. Her husband, Suddhodana, was the king of the kingdom of Kapilavastu of Sakyan clan. The astrologist predicted that she will give birth to a son with 32 signs of a great man. If he chooses to stay at home, he will become a universal monarch. But if he leaves the house and renounces the world, he will become an Arhat, an enlightened Buddha. While traveling to Devdaha along with her attendants, she stopped in the beautiful Lumbini gardens to take some rest. After taking bath in the nearby pond, she felt the pain and gave birth to Buddha in the standing position while holding the branches of a sal tree under the full bloom. Queen Mahamaya and the newborn prince returned to Kapilavastu, where they were received with great festivity. On the fifth day after the birth, the naming ceremony was held and the child was named Siddhartha, which means fulfillment of every wish. But Queen Mahamaya died seven days after the birth of Siddhartha. The young prince was brought up by his stepmother, Mahaprajapati. Asita, the great sage of the time, heard about the birth of the prince. He wanted to see the child and visited the royal palace. King Suddhodana became very excited with the unexpected visit of the great sage. He brought the young prince to the sage so that the child could be blessed by the sage. But to the surprise of all, the legs of the child moved and rested on the matted locks of the sage. The ascetic rose from his seat and saluted the child with his folded hands. He saw the child with a smile and then started crying with continuous tears. The king became very concerned about the future of the child and asked about his reaction. The great sage said that he smiled because the young prince will attain enlightenment and will become Buddha. He cried because he won't be able to hear the supreme truth from the Buddha and will not be able to benefit from the ultimate wisdom of Buddha as he would die long before he attains Buddhahood. Siddhartha was a quiet child and was compassionate who loved nature. His education started at the age of eight and he quickly mastered all the teachings of his teachers. He received special training in the art of warfare. He also learned literature, arts, and religion. He mastered several languages. A remarkable spiritual incident took place during the ninth year of prince Siddhartha. He accompanied his father to the annual plowing festival which was participated by the king, nobles, and commons to mark the beginning of the sowing season. The festival began with the chanting of Vedic mantras. As the process of plowing started, the worms and insects started getting killed in large numbers. Siddhartha was shocked to see the dying insects. It was too hot and the prince started sweating continuously. He left the function and sat under the shade of a rose apple tree. He sat cross-legged and reflected on whatever he had just seen. He entered the state of deep meditation and before long he experienced the state of mind better known as the state of Samadhi. King Suddhodana reached the site looking for his son. He saw prince Siddhartha in a deep state of meditation and immediately got worried about the prophecies of prince turning into an ascetic.