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Queen Māyādevī, also known as Mahāmāyā, served as queen consort to King Śuddhodana, ruler of the Shakya clan in Kapilavastu. She was the daughter of King Anjana and Queen Yasodhara of the Koliya clan in Devadaha, and thus the cousin of King Śuddhodana. Her family included a sister, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, and two brothers, Dandapani and Suppabuddha.
Renowned for her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and high moral character, Māyādevī diligently observed the five precepts of Buddhist morality from childhood, abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants. Her profound piety and perfected virtues led to her selection as the mother of the bodhisattva destined to become Gautama Buddha.
The bodhisattva’s conception unfolded under extraordinary circumstances. On the night of the full moon in July, after observing the eight precepts, Māyādevī dreamed of being carried by four devas to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. There, she was bathed, dressed in celestial garments, and adorned with divine flowers. A white elephant bearing a white lotus circled her bed three times before entering her right side. Wise men interpreted this dream as a sign that she would bear a son destined to become either a universal monarch or a fully enlightened Buddha.
Her ten-lunar-month pregnancy proceeded with perfect health under the continuous protection of four celestial beings. Following custom, she journeyed to her parents’ home in Devadaha for the birth. En route, she paused at the Lumbini garden and, while standing and holding a branch of a sal tree, gave birth to Prince Siddhartha. The child emerged miraculously from her right side without pain or impurity. Celestial beings received the newborn, and two streams of water—one warm, one cool—descended from the sky to wash both mother and child.
Māyādevī passed away seven days after the prince’s birth, fulfilling the destiny of all mothers of Buddhas. She was reborn in the Tuṣita Heaven. After the Buddha’s enlightenment, she descended to the Tavatimsa Heaven, where he preached the Abhidharma to her for three months.
Renowned for her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and high moral character, Māyādevī diligently observed the five precepts of Buddhist morality from childhood, abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants. Her profound piety and perfected virtues led to her selection as the mother of the bodhisattva destined to become Gautama Buddha.
The bodhisattva’s conception unfolded under extraordinary circumstances. On the night of the full moon in July, after observing the eight precepts, Māyādevī dreamed of being carried by four devas to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. There, she was bathed, dressed in celestial garments, and adorned with divine flowers. A white elephant bearing a white lotus circled her bed three times before entering her right side. Wise men interpreted this dream as a sign that she would bear a son destined to become either a universal monarch or a fully enlightened Buddha.
Her ten-lunar-month pregnancy proceeded with perfect health under the continuous protection of four celestial beings. Following custom, she journeyed to her parents’ home in Devadaha for the birth. En route, she paused at the Lumbini garden and, while standing and holding a branch of a sal tree, gave birth to Prince Siddhartha. The child emerged miraculously from her right side without pain or impurity. Celestial beings received the newborn, and two streams of water—one warm, one cool—descended from the sky to wash both mother and child.
Māyādevī passed away seven days after the prince’s birth, fulfilling the destiny of all mothers of Buddhas. She was reborn in the Tuṣita Heaven. After the Buddha’s enlightenment, she descended to the Tavatimsa Heaven, where he preached the Abhidharma to her for three months.