On the seventh day after the Bodhisatta's birth his mother, Queen Māyā, dies and is reborn in a heaven. His aunt Mahāpajāpatī becomes his nurse and raises the Bodhisatta. The texts of every major school record this event. Taishō Canon
More sources (4)
Pali Canon
More sources (3)
Different Accounts
The heaven in which the mother was reborn: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the later commentaries have the Tusita heaven; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Buddha biography Fangguang da zhuangyan jing have the Heaven of the Thirty-three (the heaven where Sakka, king of the gods, dwells), and the Zhongxu mohedi jing has the Trāyastriṃśa heaven (that is, the Heaven of the Thirty-three). Taishō Canon
More sources (2)
More differences between accounts (3)
The number of days: most accounts give seven days; the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya says only “a few days” after the birth. Taishō Canon
The foster mother's name: also given as Mahāprajāpatī (Da'aidao) and Gotamī.
Order: the Buddha biographies Puyao jing (the Chinese Lalitavistara), Fangguang da zhuangyan jing and Zhongxu mohedi jing place the mother's death before the seer Asita's visit; two other Buddha biographies place it after.
Dating
The seventh day after the Buddha's birth; the “seven days” are stated in the canonical texts, so it can be fixed to the day (counting from the day of birth).
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü) and the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 123:13.2
- Pali Canon巴利 Ud 5.2:1.5
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 20:1.3.18
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 142:3.3
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.109a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.185c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.495a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.555c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.627c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.701a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.940c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.188 p.618b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，§50，PTS 0.274
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 142Entire text
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，PTS 0.274