Śuddhodana - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 04:58, 25 June 2022
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	{{use dmy dates\|date=June 2017}}		{{use dmy dates\|date=June 2017}}
	{{use Indian English\|date=June 2017}}		{{use Indian English\|date=June 2017}}
	{{Infobox ~~royalty~~		{{Infobox person
	\| image = Suddhodna seated on a throne Roundel 2 ivory tusk.jpg		\| name = Suddhodana
	~~\| alt =~~		\| image = Suddhodna seated on a throne Roundel 2 ivory tusk.jpg
	~~\| caption = Śuddhodana~~		\| birth_place = [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]], [[Shakya]] (The ancient city of Kapilavastu in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{Citation \| last =Tuladhar \| first =Swoyambhu D. \| title =The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited \| journal = Ancient Nepal \| issue = 151 \| date = November 2002 \| pages = 1–7 \| url =http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf}}</ref>)
	~~\| predecessor = [[Sihahanu]]~~		\| death_place = [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]], [[Shakya]] (The ancient city of Kapilavastu in present-day [[Nepal]] or in [[India]]<ref>{{Citation \| last =Tuladhar \| first =Swoyambhu D. \| title =The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited \| journal = Ancient Nepal \| issue = 151 \| date = November 2002 \| pages = 1–7 \| url =http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf}}</ref>)
	~~\| pre-type = Predecessor~~		\| predecessor = [[Sihahanu]]
	~~\| suc-type = Successor~~		\| spouse = [[Maya (mother of Buddha)\|Maya]] <br/>[[Mahapajapati Gotami]]
	\| birth_place = [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]], [[Shakya]] (The ancient city of Kapilavastu ~~is believed to be either in present-day [[India]] or~~ in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{Citation \| last =Tuladhar \| first =Swoyambhu D. \| title =The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited \| journal = Ancient Nepal \| issue = 151 \| date = November 2002 \| pages = 1–7 \| url =http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf}}</ref><ref ~~name="Archaeology"~~>{{~~cite web~~\|~~url~~=~~http://www.archaeology.org/0103/newsbriefs/buddha~~.~~html~~\|title=~~Competing Claims on Buddha's Hometown~~\|~~publisher~~=~~Archaeology~~\|date=~~March 2001~~\|~~access-date~~=~~21 March 2011~~\|~~author~~=~~Chris Hellier~~}}</ref>)		\| children = {{ubl\|[[Gautama Buddha\|Siddhartha]] (son)<br/> [[Nanda (Buddhist nun)\|Sundari Nanda]] (daughter) <br/>[[Nanda (Buddhist)\|Nanda]] (son)}}
	\| ~~death_place~~ = [[~~Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu~~]]~~, [[Shakya]]~~		\| mother = Kaccanā
	~~\| consort = no~~		\| father = [[Sihahanu]]
	\| spouse = [[Maya (mother of Buddha)\|Maya]] <br/>[[Mahapajapati Gotami]]
	\| ~~spouse-type = Wife~~
	~~\| issue~~ = {{~~plainlist~~\|*[[Gautama Buddha]]
	*[[Nanda (Buddhist nun)\|Sundari Nanda]]
	*[[Nanda (Buddhist)\|Nanda]]
	}}
	\| ~~house~~ = ~~[[Shakya]]~~
	\| father = [[Sihahanu]]
	~~\| mother = Kaccanā~~
	}}		}}
	{{Infobox Buddhist term		{{Infobox Buddhist term
	\| title = Śuddhodana		\| title = Śuddhodana
	~~\| en =~~
	\| pi = Suddhōdana		\| pi = Suddhōdana
	\| sa = शुद्धोधन<br>(Śuddhodana)		\| sa = शुद्धोधन<br/>(Śuddhodana)
	\| bn =		\| bn =
	\| my = သုဒ္ဓေါဒန		\| my = သုဒ္ဓေါဒန<br/>([[International Phonetic Alphabet\|IPA]]: [θoʊʔdɔ́dəna̰])
	\| my-Latn = ~~θoʊʔdɔ́dəna̰~~		\| my-Latn =
	\| zh =		\| zh =
	\| zh-Latn =		\| zh-Latn =
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	\| english = Śuddhodana		\| english = Śuddhodana
	}}		}}
	'''Śuddhodana''' ({{Lang-sa\|शुद्धोदन}}; [[Pali]]: ''Suddhōdana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice,"<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=6}}</ref> was a leader of the [[Shakya]], who lived in an oligarchic republic ~~on the [[Indian subcontinent]]~~, with their capital at [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]]. He was also the father of [[Gautama Buddha\|Siddhartha Gautama]], who later became ~~[[Gautama Buddha\|~~The Buddha]].<ref>In the ''[[Pāli Canon]]'', there are only two discourses that explicitly reference Suddhodana: [[Digha Nikaya\|DN]] 14, ''Mahāpadāna Sutta'', and in the versified prologue of [[Suttanipata\|Sn]] 3.11, ''Nālaka Sutta''. In each of these discourses, Suddhodana is represented simply as the Buddha's father and as a Sakyan ruler. For a translation of the latter discourse, see [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html Thanissaro, 1998].</ref>		'''Śuddhodana''' ({{Lang-sa\|शुद्धोदन}}; [[Pali]]: ''Suddhōdana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice,"<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=6}}</ref> was a leader of the [[Shakya]], who lived in an oligarchic republic in Present day Nepal, with their capital at [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]]. He was also the father of [[Gautama Buddha\|Siddhartha Gautama]], who later became The Buddha.<ref>In the ''[[Pāli Canon]]'', there are only two discourses that explicitly reference Suddhodana: [[Digha Nikaya\|DN]] 14, ''Mahāpadāna Sutta'', and in the versified prologue of [[Suttanipata\|Sn]] 3.11, ''Nālaka Sutta''. In each of these discourses, Suddhodana is represented simply as the Buddha's father and as a Sakyan ruler. For a translation of the latter discourse, see [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html Thanissaro, 1998].</ref>

	In later renditions of the life of the Buddha, Śuddhodana was often referred to as a king, though that status cannot be established with confidence and is in fact disputed by modern scholars.		In later renditions of the life of the Buddha, Śuddhodana was often referred to as a king, though that status cannot be established with confidence and is in fact disputed by modern scholars.

	==Family==		==Family==
	Sudhdhodhana king's earliest predecessor was King Maha Sammatha(or the first king of the Kalpa). Śuddhodana's father was [[Sihahanu]] and his mother was Kaccanā. Suddhodana's chief consort was Maha [[Maya (mother of the Buddha)\|Maya]], with whom he had Siddhartha Gautama (who later became known as Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the ~~Shakyans~~," or the [[Gautama Buddha\|Buddha]]). Maya died shortly after Siddhartha was born. Suddhodana next elevated to chief consort Maya's sister [[Mahapajapati Gotami]], with whom he had a second son [[Nanda (Buddhist)\|Nanda]] and a daughter ~~Sundarī~~ [[Nanda (Buddhist nun)\|Nandā]]. Both children became Buddhist monastics.<ref>Dictionary of Buddhism, Keown, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN\|0-19-860560-9}}</ref>		Sudhdhodhana king's earliest predecessor was King Maha Sammatha(or the first king of the Kalpa). Śuddhodana's father was [[Sihahanu]] and his mother was Kaccanā. Suddhodana's chief consort was Maha [[Maya (mother of the Buddha)\|Maya]], with whom he had Siddhartha Gautama (who later became known as Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Shakyas", or the [[Gautama Buddha\|Buddha]]). Maya died shortly after Siddhartha was born. Suddhodana next elevated to chief consort Maya's sister [[Mahapajapati Gotami]], with whom he had a second son [[Nanda (Buddhist)\|Nanda]] and a daughter [[Nanda (Buddhist nun)\|Sundarī Nandā]]. Both children became Buddhist monastics.<ref>Dictionary of Buddhism, Keown, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN\|0-19-860560-9}}</ref>

	At the age of 16, Siddhartha married his cousin [[Yasodharā]], the niece of Maha Maya and Mahapajapati. Yasodhara's father was traditionally said to be Suppabuddha, but by some accounts it was Dandapani.<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=24}}</ref>		At the age of 16, Siddhartha married his cousin [[Yasodharā]], the niece of Maha Maya and Mahapajapati. Yasodhara's father was traditionally said to be Suppabuddha, but by some accounts it was Dandapani.<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=24}}</ref>
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	==Biography==		==Biography==
	===Questions of royal status ===		===Questions of royal status ===
	Though frequently depicted and referenced as a king, most recent scholarship on the matter refutes the notion that Śuddhodana was a monarch. Many notable scholars state that the Shakya republic was not a monarchy but rather an oligarchy, ruled by an elite council of the warrior and ministerial class that chose its leader or ''rājā''.<ref>Gombrich, 1988, pp. 49-50</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age\|last=Batchelor\|first=Stephen\|publisher=Yale University Press\|year=2015\|isbn=978-0300205183\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37 37]\|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|edition=New\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>Hirakawa, 2007, p. 21</ref> While the rājā may have held considerable authority in the Shakya homeland, he did not rule autocratically. Questions of consequence were debated in the governing council and decisions were made by consensus.<ref>Schumann, 2016, p. 18</ref> Furthermore, by the time of Siddharta's birth, the Shakya republic had become a vassal state of the larger Kingdom of [[Kosala]].<ref>{{Cite book\|title=The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya\|last=Walshe\|first=Maurice\|publisher=Wisdom Publications\|year=1995\|isbn=0-86171-103-3\|~~location~~=http://lirs.ru/lib/sutra/Long_Discourses_of_the_Buddha(Digha_Nikaya).Walshe.pdf\|pages=409}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=After Buddhism\|last=Batchelor\|first=Stephen\|publisher=Yale University Press\|year=2015\|isbn=978-0-300-20518-3\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/ Chapter 2, Section 2, 7th paragraph]\|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/}}</ref> The head of Shakya's oligarchic council, the rājā, would only assume and stay in office with the approval of the King of Kosala.		Though frequently depicted and referenced as a king, most recent scholarship on the matter refutes the notion that Śuddhodana was a monarch. Many notable scholars state that the Shakya republic was not a monarchy but rather an oligarchy, ruled by an elite council of the warrior and ministerial class that chose its leader or ''rājā''.<ref>Gombrich, 1988, pp. 49-50</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age\|last=Batchelor\|first=Stephen\|publisher=Yale University Press\|year=2015\|isbn=978-0300205183\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37 37]\|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Historical Buddha\|last=Schumann\|first=H.W.\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass\|year=2016\|edition=New\|isbn=978-8120818170\|pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>Hirakawa, 2007, p. 21</ref> While the rājā may have held considerable authority in the Shakya homeland, he did not rule autocratically. Questions of consequence were debated in the governing council and decisions were made by consensus.<ref>Schumann, 2016, p. 18</ref> Furthermore, by the time of Siddharta's birth, the Shakya republic had become a vassal state of the larger Kingdom of [[Kosala]].<ref>{{Cite book\|title=The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya\|last=Walshe\|first=Maurice\|publisher=Wisdom Publications\|year=1995\|isbn=0-86171-103-3\|url=http://lirs.ru/lib/sutra/Long_Discourses_of_the_Buddha(Digha_Nikaya).Walshe.pdf\|pages=409}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=After Buddhism\|last=Batchelor\|first=Stephen\|publisher=Yale University Press\|year=2015\|isbn=978-0-300-20518-3\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/ Chapter 2, Section 2, 7th paragraph]\|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/}}</ref> The head of Shakya's oligarchic council, the rājā, would only assume and stay in office with the approval of the King of Kosala.

	[[File:Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu in full Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg\|thumb\|Procession of king Suddhodana from [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]], proceeding to meet his son the Buddha walking in mid-air (heads raised upwards at the bottom of the panel), and to give him a Banyan tree (bottom left corner).<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.64]</ref> [[Sanchi]].]]		[[File:Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu in full Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg\|thumb\|Procession of king Suddhodana from [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)\|Kapilavastu]], proceeding to meet his son the Buddha walking in mid-air (heads raised upwards at the bottom of the panel), and to give him a Banyan tree (bottom left corner).<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.64]</ref> [[Sanchi]].]]

imported>Rdp060707: Reverted edits by 2409:4064:2D06:7AE4:E14F:853F:125B:1BDD (talk) to last revision by Neils51: not adhering to neutral point of view

2021-06-28T01:25:12Z

Reverted edits by 2409:4064:2D06:7AE4:E14F:853F:125B:1BDD (talk) to last revision by Neils51: not adhering to neutral point of view

New page

{{short description|Father of Siddhartha Gautama}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image = Suddhodna seated on a throne Roundel 2 ivory tusk.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Śuddhodana
| predecessor = [[Sihahanu]]
| pre-type = Predecessor
| suc-type = Successor
| birth_place = [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], [[Shakya]] (The ancient city of Kapilavastu is believed to be either in present-day [[India]] or in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{Citation | last =Tuladhar | first =Swoyambhu D. | title =The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited | journal = Ancient Nepal | issue = 151 | date = November 2002 | pages = 1–7 | url =http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Archaeology">{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.org/0103/newsbriefs/buddha.html|title=Competing Claims on Buddha's Hometown|publisher=Archaeology|date=March 2001|access-date=21 March 2011|author=Chris Hellier}}</ref>)
| death_place = [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], [[Shakya]]
| consort = no
| spouse = [[Maya (mother of Buddha)|Maya]] <br/>[[Mahapajapati Gotami]]
| spouse-type = Wife
| issue = {{plainlist|*[[Gautama Buddha]]
*[[Nanda (Buddhist nun)|Sundari Nanda]]
*[[Nanda (Buddhist)|Nanda]]
}}
| house = [[Shakya]]
| father = [[Sihahanu]]
| mother = Kaccanā
}}
{{Infobox Buddhist term
| title = Śuddhodana
| en =
| pi = Suddhōdana
| sa = शुद्धोधन<br>(Śuddhodana)
| bn =
| my = သုဒ္ဓေါဒန
| my-Latn = θoʊʔdɔ́dəna̰
| zh =
| zh-Latn =
| ja =
| ja-Latn =
| km = សុទ្ធោទនៈ<br>(Sotthoteakneak)
| km-Latn =
| ko =
| ko-Latn =
| lo =
| mnw =
| mnw-Latn =
| shn =
| shn-Latn =
| si = සුද්ධෝදන මහ රජතුමා
| si-Latn =
| ta =
| th = สุทโธทนะ<br>(Sutthothana)
| bo =
| bo-Latn =
| vi =
| id =
| kannada = ಶುದ್ಧೋದನ
| english = Śuddhodana
}}
'''Śuddhodana''' ({{Lang-sa|शुद्धोदन}}; [[Pali]]: ''Suddhōdana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice,"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism|last=Schumann|first=H.W.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2016|isbn=978-8120818170|pages=6}}</ref> was a leader of the [[Shakya]], who lived in an oligarchic republic on the [[Indian subcontinent]], with their capital at [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]]. He was also the father of [[Gautama Buddha|Siddhartha Gautama]], who later became [[Gautama Buddha|The Buddha]].<ref>In the ''[[Pāli Canon]]'', there are only two discourses that explicitly reference Suddhodana: [[Digha Nikaya|DN]] 14, ''Mahāpadāna Sutta'', and in the versified prologue of [[Suttanipata|Sn]] 3.11, ''Nālaka Sutta''. In each of these discourses, Suddhodana is represented simply as the Buddha's father and as a Sakyan ruler. For a translation of the latter discourse, see [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html Thanissaro, 1998].</ref>

In later renditions of the life of the Buddha, Śuddhodana was often referred to as a king, though that status cannot be established with confidence and is in fact disputed by modern scholars.

==Family==
Sudhdhodhana king's earliest predecessor was King Maha Sammatha(or the first king of the Kalpa). Śuddhodana's father was [[Sihahanu]] and his mother was Kaccanā. Suddhodana's chief consort was Maha [[Maya (mother of the Buddha)|Maya]], with whom he had Siddhartha Gautama (who later became known as Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Shakyans," or the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]). Maya died shortly after Siddhartha was born. Suddhodana next elevated to chief consort Maya's sister [[Mahapajapati Gotami]], with whom he had a second son [[Nanda (Buddhist)|Nanda]] and a daughter Sundarī [[Nanda (Buddhist nun)|Nandā]]. Both children became Buddhist monastics.<ref>Dictionary of Buddhism, Keown, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-860560-9}}</ref>

At the age of 16, Siddhartha married his cousin [[Yasodharā]], the niece of Maha Maya and Mahapajapati. Yasodhara's father was traditionally said to be Suppabuddha, but by some accounts it was Dandapani.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Buddha: The Times, Life and Teachings of the Founder of Buddhism|last=Schumann|first=H.W.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2016|isbn=978-8120818170|pages=24}}</ref>

==Biography==
===Questions of royal status ===
Though frequently depicted and referenced as a king, most recent scholarship on the matter refutes the notion that Śuddhodana was a monarch. Many notable scholars state that the Shakya republic was not a monarchy but rather an oligarchy, ruled by an elite council of the warrior and ministerial class that chose its leader or ''rājā''.<ref>Gombrich, 1988, pp. 49-50</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age|last=Batchelor|first=Stephen|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0300205183|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37 37]|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Buddha|last=Schumann|first=H.W.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2016|edition=New|isbn=978-8120818170|pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>Hirakawa, 2007, p. 21</ref> While the rājā may have held considerable authority in the Shakya homeland, he did not rule autocratically. Questions of consequence were debated in the governing council and decisions were made by consensus.<ref>Schumann, 2016, p. 18</ref> Furthermore, by the time of Siddharta's birth, the Shakya republic had become a vassal state of the larger Kingdom of [[Kosala]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya|last=Walshe|first=Maurice|publisher=Wisdom Publications|year=1995|isbn=0-86171-103-3|location=http://lirs.ru/lib/sutra/Long_Discourses_of_the_Buddha(Digha_Nikaya).Walshe.pdf|pages=409}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=After Buddhism|last=Batchelor|first=Stephen|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-300-20518-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/ Chapter 2, Section 2, 7th paragraph]|url=https://archive.org/details/afterbuddhismret0000batc/page/}}</ref> The head of Shakya's oligarchic council, the rājā, would only assume and stay in office with the approval of the King of Kosala.

[[File:Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu in full Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg|thumb|Procession of king Suddhodana from [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], proceeding to meet his son the Buddha walking in mid-air (heads raised upwards at the bottom of the panel), and to give him a Banyan tree (bottom left corner).<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.64]</ref> [[Sanchi]].]]
The earliest Buddhist texts available to us do not identify Śuddhodana or his family as royals.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Defining Buddhism: A Reader|last=Walters|first=Jonathan S.|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1845532314|editor-last=Derris and Grummer|pages=Chapter 2, section IV, paragraph 9|chapter=Suttas As History: Four Approaches to the Sermon on the Noble Quest (Ariyapariyesanasutta)}}</ref> In later texts, there may have been a misinterpretation of the Pali word ''rājā'', which can mean alternatively a king, prince, ruler, or governor.<ref>Search of rājā at http://dictionary.tamilcube.com/pali-dictionary.aspx</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sdhammika.blogspot.com/2015/12/was-buddha-really-prince.html|title=dharma musings|last=Dhammika|first=Shravasti|date=17 December 2015|access-date=March 24, 2017}}</ref> Or as noted in the related article on [[Buddhism]], "Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about the society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts."<ref>Gombrich, 1988, pp. 18-19, 50-51</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Tibetan Inscriptions|last=Tropper|first=Kurt|publisher=BRILL Academic|year=2013|isbn=978-90-04-25241-7|pages=60–61, with footnotes 134–136}}</ref>

===Siddhartha's birth and Great Renunciation===
Siddhartha Gautama was born in [[Lumbini]] and raised in the Shakya capital of [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]]. According to legend, Śuddhodana went to great lengths to prevent Siddhartha from becoming a [[śramaṇa]]. But at the age of 29, after experiencing the [[Four sights|Four Sights]], Siddhartha left his home in search of spiritual answers to the unsatisfactory nature of life, leaving behind his wife [[Yasodharā]] and infant son [[Rāhula]]. The story of Siddhartha's departure is traditionally called The Great Renunciation (''Mahābhiniṣkramaṇa'').

===Later life===
Śuddhodana lamented his son's departure and spent considerable effort attempting to locate him. Seven years later, after word of his [[Bodhi|enlightenment]] reached Suddhodana, he sent nine emissaries to invite Siddhartha back to the Shakya land. The Buddha preached to the emissaries and their entourage, who joined the ''[[Sangha (Buddhism)|Sangha]]''.

Śuddhodana then sent a close friend of Siddhartha, Kaludayi, to invite him to return. Kaludayi also chose to become a monk, but kept his word to invite the Buddha back to his home. The Buddha accepted his father's invitation and returned to visit his home. During this visit, he preached the [[dharma]] to Suddhodana.

Four years later, when the Buddha heard of Suddhodana's impending death, he once again returned to his home and preached further to Śuddhodana at his deathbed. Finally he gained [[Arahantship]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Suddhodana}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710131239/http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Relatives_and_Disciples_of_the_Buddha_By_Radhika_Abeysekera Immediate family of Shuddhodana]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070209234644/http://www.vri.dhamma.org/publications/webversion/english/sakyakol.html Why was the Sakyan Republic Destroyed? by S. N. Goenka] (The following is a translation and adaptation of a Hindi article by [[S. N. Goenka]] published by the Vipassana Research Institute in December 2003.)

{{Gautama Buddha|state=collapsed}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Suddhodana}}
[[Category:Family of Gautama Buddha]]
[[Category:Disciples of Gautama Buddha]]
[[Category:Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Place of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Place of death unknown]]
[[Category:People from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhist monarchs]]