The minister named Makanama went to the king and reported the birth of the prince. He also spoke of the various miracles that had occurred.
The king, astonished, entered the garden. A maidservant, holding the prince, spoke.
“Prince, your father, the king, has arrived. Please pay your respects.”
The king responded, “First, let him pay respects to my teacher, the Brahmin. I can come after that.”
The maidservant, carrying the prince, went to the Brahmin. The Brahmin looked at the prince and said to the king:
“This prince will surely become a Chakravartin, an ideal king.”
The king returned to Kapilavastu with the prince.
Not far from the castle, there was a shrine dedicated to a celestial deity named Zōjō. The Shakya people all worshiped at this shrine, praying for their wishes to be granted. The king said to his ministers:
“I would like to visit this deity with the prince.”
Zōjōten (Zōjō Deity), Beijing Wofo Temple
When the prince’s wet nurse brought him to the shrine, a female deity appeared. Her name was Mui (Fearless). The goddess emerged from the shrine, welcomed the prince, respectfully joined her palms, and bowed at the prince’s feet. She then spoke to the wet nurse.
“The prince is a superior being. Do not take him lightly. Never again let the prince bow to me. It is I who must bow to him.”
After this, the king, his queen, and the prince returned to the castle. Queen Māyā passed away seven days after the prince’s birth. Both the king and the people mourned deeply. The king lamented, as the prince was still young.
“Who will raise him now?”
The queen’s father, a nobleman named Zengaku, had eight daughters. The youngest, named Mahapajapati, raised the prince as if he were her own child. She was the prince’s aunt. The prince was named Siddhartha. It is said that after Queen Māyā passed away, she was reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven.
[Translation]
Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using ChatGPT-4o to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Explanation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
Hermann Hesse’s greatest masterpiece is considered to be Siddhartha, but the protagonist of this novel is said to be a different person, sharing only the same name.
Siddhartha means “one who has achieved his goal.” Since it is a rather grand name to give a child, it is thought that the name may have been bestowed in later generations.
King Śuddhodana
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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