Lord Buddha was born as prince Siddharth in a royal family. He was born in the forest of Lumbini near Kapilavastu, Shakya republic of Kosala kingdom (Nepal). As per historical events, he was born in 563 BCE but according to Buddhist tradition, he was born in 624 BCE. His father was King Shuddodhan and his mother was queen Maya. He lost his mother after a few days of his birth and he was raised in a very protective environment by the younger sister of his mother Gautami. He married Yashodhara, a princess of another kingdom and had a son Rahul.
Prince Siddhartha was twenty-nine years old when his life changed when he observed the miseries of life. While visiting outside his palaces he first saw a sick person, then an old man, an ascetic, then a corpse. This shook him to the core of his being; he realized that his privileged and protected status would not protect him from the miseries of sickness, old age, and death.
In pursuit of his spiritual quest, he renounced his worldly life and began the life of an ascetic. He sought teachers and changed them, punished his body with extreme ascetic practices. At that time it was largely believed that punishing the body was the way to elevate the mind and that the door to wisdom was found at the edge of death. However, after six years of this, prince Siddharth felt only frustration.
At Bodh Gaya (Bihar), he sat in meditation beneath a tree, “the Bodhi tree,” until he awakened, or realized enlightenment that the path to peace was through mental discipline only. From that time on, he would be known as the Buddha.
