The Bodhisatta's wife bears a son, named Rāhula. That Rāhula was the Bodhisatta's son is recorded in the texts of every major school, but the canonical texts themselves do not say when he was born. The later commentaries of the Southern tradition say he was born on the day the Bodhisatta went forth, and that the Bodhisatta looked in on his wife and son that night before leaving, and left without picking him up; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says instead that the wife conceived on the night of the going forth and gave birth only on the day of the Awakening. Taishō Canon
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Pali Canon
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Different Accounts
The time of birth: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition have the day of the going forth, and also cite another account that he was already seven days old at the going forth; the Buddha biography Buddhacarita says he was born before the going forth; the Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing and Fo benxing ji jing say he was conceived before the going forth; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says he was conceived before the going forth and born on the day of the Awakening. Taishō Canon
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More differences between accounts (3)
The origin of the name: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say that on hearing of his son's birth the Bodhisatta said “Rāhu is born, a bond is born” (“Rāhu” means an obstacle), and the king therefore named him Rāhula; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says he was named because there was an eclipse of the moon at his birth. Taishō Canon
The pregnancy: the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says that while the Bodhisatta practised austerities his wife Yasodharā also reduced her food, and the child in the womb grew weaker day by day; the Buddha biographies Puyao jing (the Chinese Lalitavistara) and Fangguang da zhuangyan jing say that when the Buddha returned home after the Awakening, the Sakyans wondered how the prince, twelve years away from the country, could have a son. Taishō Canon
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Born on the same day: the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says that on the same day King Dhotodana (the Bodhisatta's uncle) also had a son, named Ānanda. Taishō Canon
Dating
On the account of the later commentaries of the Southern tradition (“the day of the going forth”), the Buddha aged twenty-nine; on the account of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (“the day of the Awakening”), thirty-five. The sources differ; it can be fixed to a day, but there is no settled answer.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by four schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü), 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); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 Bv 27:15.4
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:54.1.5
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.779b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.101b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.105a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.115a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.121a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.124b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.632b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.633c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.727a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.5a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.536c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.616a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，§50，PTS 0.280、0.0282
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.124c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.184 p.462b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.124b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，PTS 0.280