Queen Maya's Dream

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, 2500 years ago in fact, there was a small kingdom ruled by King Suddhodana. This land now lies in the southern part of Nepal and the north eastern part of India. One day, his wife, Queen Maya, had a dream that a white baby elephant appeared at her side and blessed her with his trunk.

Birth Story

Queen Maya later found that she was pregnant. The custom of the time was for a woman to return to her parent's home for the birth of her child. It was long journey to make, and the party stopped for a rest at the edge of great forest, in a place called Lumbini. The Queen wandered off some way - she was deep in the wood when her birth pangs began. Magically, a tree bent its branches for her support. The child was born quickly, with almost no pain to Maya, his skin was golden in colour, he could walk, and lotus blossoms bloomed as he walked. He was fully conscious.

Asita's Prophesy

King Suddhodana named the child Siddhartha which means "he who accomplishes great things". At the naming ceremony, Asita, the old hermit and astrologer who lived in the forest, came to pay homage. As he looked on the baby, tears came to his eyes. "Do not be alarmed" he said, "these are only the tears of an old man who will not live long enough to learn from the teachings of your son. He will be the master of the world or its saviour; a great king or a great holy man". Suddhodana wanted his son to become a great king not a holy man, so he resolved to make sure that his son developed as a warrior-king and was never exposed to the bad things in life.

Siddhartha was about to experience a strong dose of parental conditioning, Suddhodana did not want his son becoming religious, he wanted him to be a warrior. Siddhartha was the son of a King; his duty was to be the next king. Duty is a big part of Vedic Hindu religion. Vedic society had four classes or Varnas - The Brahmins, The Kshatryas, The Vaishyas and the Shudras. It was a very regulated society, in which people knew their place, knew their duty. Siddhartha was born into the Kshatrya class, the warrior class; he was born to be a warrior. That will be his duty; and the King will see to it that he carries it out too!