The mother of Rāhula points to the Buddha and says to him: “This is your father; go and ask him for your inheritance.” Rāhula follows the Buddha to the Banyan Park, and the Buddha asks Sāriputta to ordain him as a . King Suddhodana, deeply grieved, asks the Buddha to rule that a child may not go forth without the consent of the parents; the Buddha agrees and lays down the rule. Pali Canon
Different Accounts
Rāhula's age at his going forth: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition do not record it; the Buddha biography Fangguang da zhuangyan jing says seven; the Fo benxing ji jing says six, and that he spent six years in the womb; the Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya also says his mother carried him for six years and that he was already six when the Buddha returned home.
More differences between accounts (3)
The Chinese and Tibetan Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya say Rāhula followed the Buddha and would not return to the palace; King Suddhodana asked only to give a feast in his honour for one day, and the next day the Buddha asked Sāriputta to ordain him; this version has no request by King Suddhodana for a rule. The Tibetan Vinaya adds that Rāhula recognized his father among five hundred emanations of the Buddha.
The Tibetan Vinaya and the Saṅghabhedavastu of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya both say the Buddha awakened six years after his going forth and returned to his home town twelve years after leaving it.
Where he went afterwards: the Pali Vinaya says the Buddha next went to Sāvatthī; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say he returned to the Bamboo Grove at Rājagaha.
Dating
Year uncertain; the same return home as the other entries in this group. Possibly before the of Year 2 after the Awakening (the Buddha aged thirty-six), around Year 6 (aged forty), Year 7 (aged forty-one) or Year 12 (aged forty-six). The later commentaries of the Southern tradition say it was the seventh day after the arrival; the age of Rāhula given in the sources (six or seven) also bears on the reckoning of the year of the return, and for now it cannot be fixed to a single year.
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 Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü). Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:54.1.1–54.6.5
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.809c–810a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.116c–117a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.158c–159a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.616a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.906a
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 131b1–132b4
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.159b
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:55.1.1
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 132b1–132b4
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 132a1–132a2
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 ka 80a1–80a5