Yaà Âodharàor Yashodhara, originally known as BhaddakaccÃÂnà(PÃÂli) or BhadrakÃÂtyÃÂyani (Sanskrit), was an Indian princess and the wife of Prince Siddhartha prior to his renunciation to become a à Âramaá¹Âa (ascetic). She was the mother of RÃÂhula, and the niece of Mahaprajapati Gautami. Later, she became a Bhikkhunë and is considered an arahatÃÂ.
Yaà Âodharàwas the daughter of King Suppabuddha and AmitÃÂ. She was born on the same day in the month of Vaishaka as prince Siddhartha. Her grandfather was Añjana, a Koliya chief, her father was Suppabuddha and her mother, AmitÃÂ, came from a Shakya family. The Shakya and the Koliya were branches of the ÃÂdicca (Sanskrit: Aditya) or Ikshvaku dynasty. There were no other families considered equal to them in the region, and therefore members of these two royal families married only among themselves.
Yaà Âodharàwas wedded to the Shakya prince Siddhartha when they were both 16. At the age of 29, she gave birth to their only child, a boy named RÃÂhula. On the night of his birth, the prince left the palace; his departure is called the Great Renunciation. Yaà Âodharàwas devastated and overcome with grief. Once prince Siddhartha left his home at night for enlightenment, the next day, everyone was surprised by the absence of the prince. The famous Indian Hindi poet Maithili Sharan Gupt (1886âÂÂ1964) tried to express the emotions of Yaà Âodharàin his eponymous poem about her, translated by Gurmeet Kaur:
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Later, when she realised that he had left, Yaà Âodharàdecided to lead a simple life. Although relatives sent her messages to say that they would maintain her, she did not take up those offers. Several princes sought her hand but she rejected their proposals. Throughout his six-year absence, Princess Yaà Âodharàfollowed the news of his actions closely.
When the Buddha visited Kapilavastu after enlightenment, Yaà Âodharàdid not go to see her former husband but asked her son RÃÂhula to go to the Buddha to seek inheritance. For herself, she thought: "Surely if I have gained any virtue at all the Lord will come to my presence." In order to fulfill her wish, Buddha came into her presence and admired her patience and sacrifice. King Suddhodana told Buddha how his daughter-in-law, Yasodhara, had spent her life in grief, without her husband. Also, there is Naraseeha Gatha, a Buddhist verse which was recited by Princess Yasodhara to Rahula, explaining the noble virtues and physical characteristics of the Buddha after his enlightenment. "Gatha" refers to a poetic verse or hymn, often used in Buddhist scriptures to convey teachings or express devotion.
Some time after her son RÃÂhula became a monk, Yaà Âodharàalso entered the Order of Monks and Nuns and within time attained the state of an arhat. She was ordained as bhikkhuni with the five hundred women following Mahapajapati Gotami that first established the bhikkhuni order. She died at 78, two years before Buddha's parinirvana (death).
In his book The Great Chronicle of Buddhas, the Burmese monk Mingun Sayadaw wrote about Yaà ÂodharÃÂ-Bhadda Kaccana Theri:
In the , The Collective Sutra of the Buddha's Past Acts, Yashodharàmeets SiddhÃÂrtha Gautama for the first time in a previous life, when as the young Brahmin (ancient Nepali priest) Sumedha, he is formally identified as a future Buddha by the buddha of that era, Dëpankara Buddha. Waiting in the city of Paduma for Dëpankara Buddha, he tries to buy flowers as an offering but soon learns that the king already bought all the flowers for his own offering. Yet, as Dipankara is approaching, Sumedha spots a girl named Sumithra (or Bhadra) holding seven lotus flowers in her hands. He speaks to her with the intention of buying one of her flowers, but she recognises at once his potential and offers him five of the lotuses if he would promise that they would become husband and wife in all their next existences.
In the thirteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Yaà Âodharàreceives a prediction of future buddhahood from Gautama Buddha as does Mahapajapati.
The meaning of the name Yaà Âodhara (Sanskrit) [from yaà Âas "glory, splendour" + dhara "bearing" from the verbal root dhri "to bear, support"] is Bearer of glory. The names she has been called besides Yaà Âodharàare: Yaà ÂodharàTheri (doyenne Yaà ÂodharÃÂ), BimbÃÂdevë, BhaddakaccÃÂnàand RÃÂhulamÃÂtà(mother of Rahula). In the Pali Canon, the name Yaà Âodharàis not found; there are two references to BhaddakaccÃÂnÃÂ.
Several other names are identified as wives of the Buddha in different Buddhist traditions, including Gopàor Gopë, Má¹ÂgajÃÂ, and ManodharÃÂ; Thomas Rhys Davids offered the interpretation that the Buddha had a single wife who acquired various titles and epithets over the years, eventually leading to the creation of origin stories for multiple wives. Noel Peri was the first scholar to treat the issue at length, examining the Chinese and Tibetan sources as well as the Pali. He observed that early sources (translated before the 5th Century) seemed to consistently identify the Buddha's wife as 'Gopë', and that after a period of inconsistency 'Yaà Âodhara' emerged as the favored name for texts translated in the latter half of the 5th Century and later.
Some non-scholastic publications say that Yasodhara was angry at the Buddha's departure, while others do not. Some studies say her anger was short-lasting: she was sorrowful not resentful.
Scholars say that Yasodhara felt not anger, but sorrow, and a desire to emulate him, to follow him into renunciation:
"On the day of his birth, the Prince left the palace. YasodharÃÂ was devastated and overcome with grief. Hearing that her husband was leading a holy Life, she emulated him by removing her jewellery, wearing a plain yellow robe and eating only one meal a day."
Eastern poetry likewise says Yasodhara was not angry and surprised at his departure; she was merely sorrowful: "YasodharÃÂâÂÂs grief is not anger at his departure. She has known from the beginning that to be a Buddha was his goal and she has shared his life and his efforts toward that goal in all their past existences in samsÃÂra. She has done so with a full knowledge of what it means. What she cannot understand is that on this one occasion he has gone leaving her behind, alone, and without a word to her."