The story of the Buddha first begins in Lumbini, modern-day Nepal, around 563 BCE. The Gautama family of the Kshatriya caste lived in a beautiful palace.
On one night, the Queen Maya had a dream. A pure, white elephant descended from the heavens and entered her womb. Then for the next 10 months, she carried him and could see him in the womb.
10 months later, as the queen was in the garden she gave birth to a child that would be named Siddhartha, meaning "he who achieves his aim".
Siddhartha!
A priest examined Siddhartha's birthmarks, and made a prediction
He will become a Great king or a Holy man!
Sadly Siddhartha's mother had passed away one week after his birth.
Suddhodana, the king, granted Siddhartha a life full of luxury and pleasure. At the age of 16 Siddhartha married the Princess, Yasodhara, who bore their son Rahula. Siddhartha was given everything...
At age 29, Siddhartha wanted to see the world outside of the palace and decided to take a journey to the city with his charioteer.