Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Yashodhara
Yashodhara shares the guarded palace life with Siddhartha and sleeps beside their infant when he leaves. The departure story makes his inability to lift the child without waking her a final moment of hesitation. When he returns as Buddha, she meets him in humble clothes and clings to his feet. The account later admits her to the order of nuns and gives her release before his death.
Also known as Yashodara · Yaśodharā
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalYashodhara shares the guarded palace life with Siddhartha and sleeps beside their infant when he leaves. The departure story makes his inability to lift the child without waking her a final moment of hesitation.
Further detail
TraditionalWhen he returns as Buddha, she meets him in humble clothes and clings to his feet. The account later admits her to the order of nuns and gives her release before his death.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the collection’s departure, reunion and later religious-life episodes. Its variant spellings are retained as aliases; the chronology and former-life explanation belong to this retelling.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
one hand restingOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 320
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0320
- Original scan leaf
- 320
- Recorded leaf number
- 320
- Current Reader position
- 311
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
Yashodara was admittedOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 337
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0337
- Original scan leaf
- 337
- Recorded leaf number
- 337
- Current Reader position
- 328
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Figures in Sacred Narratives ↗
Great Departure of Siddhartha
The night journey that leaves palace, family and expected kingship behind.
Shared source pageKantaka
The prince’s horse, whose silent departure carries the seeker out of the guarded city.
Shared source pageTavatimsa Heaven
The divine realm where Buddha teaches before returning by heavenly ladders.
Same subject and traditionAnanda
The disciple who pleads for women’s admission and grieves at Buddha’s final departure.