Unknown Story

The son of Suddhodana, ruler of the Sakyas, in the foothills of the Himalayas, northern India, and where he was known as the prince Siddhartha. His mother Queen Maya was ready to give birth, however on her way to her parents home, Maya went into laborand she gave birth to a son in the forest.

After a few day of returning to her husbands court , she died and her sisters raised the child. Sages at the royal court had pronounced that the baby prince's physical attributes suggested he would become either universal ruler, or an 'awakened one' (a buddha).

Suddhodana wanted his son to become a great king, so he was brought up in great comfort and luxury- he had hoped that his son's lasting attachment to the physical world would prevent him from pursuing a spiritual path.

The second section explores the beginning of the Prince's journey to enlightenment. At the age of 16, he married his cousin, Princess Yasodhara, with whom he enjoyed many years of wedded bliss and had a son. 

BY the age of 29, he had started to be curious about the world outside the palace and began to make excursions to explore the wider world

He encountered an old man, a sick man, and a corpse- which brought him to contemplate the fragility of life: Ageing, sickness, and death. He then started his spiritual quest and lived in the traditional way by seeking alms and becoming a wandering religious mendicant engaged in the search for the true meaning of life.