Maya

Lore & Background

In the Buddhist commentaries, Maya was on a traditional journey to her familial home in Devadaha where she would give birth, but her labor started as they were in Lumbini. The Buddha was then born in the gardens and Maya died soon after the birth of the Buddha, generally said to have been seven days afterwards. Maya was then reborn, or came to life again, in a Buddhist heaven, a pattern that is said to be followed in the births of all Buddhas. Thus Maya did not raise her son, who was instead raised by her sister and his maternal aunt, Mahapajapati Gotami. Maya would, however, on occasion descend from Heaven to give advice to her son. According to legend, one full moon night, sleeping in the palace of her husband Śuddhodana, the queen had a vivid dream. She felt herself being carried away by four devas (spirits) to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. After bathing her in the lake, the devas clothed her in heavenly cloths, anointed her with perfumes, and bedecked her with divine flowers. Soon after a white elephant, holding a white lotus flower in its trunk, appeared and went round her three times, entering her womb through her right side. Finally the elephant disappeared and the queen awoke, knowing she had been delivered an important message, as the elephant is a symbol of greatness. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha-to-be was residing as a bodhisattva in the Tuṣita heaven, and decided to take the shape of a white elephant to be reborn on Earth for the last time.

In Their Own Story

Māyā gave birth to Siddharta c. 563 BCE. The pregnancy lasted ten lunar months. Following custom, the Queen returned to her own home for the birth. On the way, she stepped down from her palanquin to have a walk under the Sal tree (Shorea robusta), often confused with the Ashoka tree (Saraca asoca), in the beautiful flower garden of Lumbini Park, Lumbini Zone, Nepal. Maya Devi was delighted by the park and gave birth standing while holding onto a sal branch. Legend has it that Prince Siddhārtha emerged from her right side. It was the eighth day of April. Some accounts say she gave him his first bath in the Puskarini pond in Lumbini Zone. But legend has it that devas caused it to rain to wash the newborn baby. He was later named Siddhārtha, "He who has accomplished his goals" or "The accomplished goal". Scholars generally agree that most Buddhist literature holds that Queen Māyā died seven days after the Buddha's birth; she was reborn as a male deva named Māyādevaputta in the Tusita heaven (according to some commentaries) or Tāvatiṃsa (in others). Seven years after the Buddha's enlightenment, she came down to visit Tavatimsa Heaven, where the Buddha later preached the Abhidharma to her. Her sister Prajāpatī (Pāli: Pajāpatī or Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī) became the child's foster mother. After Siddhartha had attained Enlightenment and become the Buddha, he visited his mother in heaven for three months to pay respects and to teach the Dharma.

Reader's Guide

In Buddhist literature and art, Queen Maya is portrayed as a very beautiful fecund woman in the prime of life. Although sometimes shown in other scenes from her life, such as having a dream foretelling her pregnancy with Gautama Buddha or with her husband King Śuddhodana seeking prophecies about their son's life, shortly after his birth, she is most often depicted whilst giving birth to Gautama, an event that is generally accepted to have taken place in Lumbini in modern-day Terai. Maya is usually shown giving birth standing under a tree and reaching overhead to hold on to a branch for support. Buddhist scholar Miranda Shaw states that Queen Maya's depiction in the nativity scene follows a pattern established in earlier Buddhist depictions of the tree spirits known as yaksini.

Did You Know?

• Māyā (माया) means 'skillful creator' in Sanskrit.
• Maya died seven days after giving birth to the Buddha, a pattern said to be followed in the births of all Buddhas.
• After her death, Maya was reborn as a male deva named Māyādevaputta in the Tusita heaven (according to some commentaries) or Tāvatiṃsa (in others).
• Seven years after the Buddha's enlightenment, Maya came down to visit Tavatimsa Heaven, where the Buddha later preached the Abhidharma to her.
• In Chinese, she is known as Móyé-fūrén (摩耶夫人, 'Lady Māyā'); in Tibetan as Gyutrulma; in Japanese as Maya-bunin (摩耶夫人); in Sinhalese as මහාමායා දේවී (Mahāmāyā Dēvi); and in Burmese as Médaw Maya (မယ်တော်မာယာ, Mother Māyā).