Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

;

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: महाप्रजापती गौतमी, ''Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī'') or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

. In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

directly, and she became the first bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun).The Life of the Buddha: (Part Two) The Order of Nuns
/ref>

Biography

Tradition says Maya and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī were Koliyan princess and sisters of

Suppabuddha Suprabuddha (Sanskrit), or Suppabuddha (Pali) was the maternal uncle and father-in-law of the Buddha according to the Mahavamsa genealogy and the Theravada commentarial tradition. He was also known as Mahāsuppabuddha. Suppabuddha is also th ...

. Mahāpajāpatī was both the Buddha's maternal aunt and adoptive mother, raising him after her sister Maya, the Buddha's birth mother, died. She raised Siddhartha as if he were her own child. Mahāpajāpatī died at the age of 120.Dhammadharini
Going Forth & Going Out ~ the Parinibbana of Mahapajapati Gotami - Dhammadharini
"The story of the parinirvāṇa of Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī and her five hundred bhikṣuṇī companions was popular and widely transmitted and existed in multiple versions." It is recorded in the various surviving

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...

traditions, including the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

and ''

Sarvastivada The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

'' and ''

Mulasarvastivada The Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit: मूलसर्वास्तिवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda sect still remain largely unk ...

'' versions. An eminent '' Therī'', Mahāpajāpatī was born at

Devdaha Devdaha (Deva Daha, देवदह) is a municipality in Rupandehi District of Nepal, the ancient capital of Koliya Kingdom, located 7 km east of Lumbini and east of Butwal and shares a border with Nawalparasi district on the east side. ...

as the younger sister of Māyā. Mahāpajāpatī was so called because, at her birth,

augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

s prophesiedWomen of the Buddhist scriptures: Mahapajapati Gotami
/ref> that she would have a large following. Both sisters married King Suddhodhana, leader of the

Śākya Shakya (Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...

. When Māyā died seven days after the birth of the Bodhisatta (the "Buddha-to-be"), Pajāpati looked after the Bodhisatta and nursed him. She raised the Buddha and had her own children, Siddhartha's half-sister Sundari Nanda and half-brother

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

. Prince Siddhartha, Prince Nanda, Princess Sundari Nanda, the grandson Rāhula and her daughter-in-law Yaśodharā all were equally loved and treated by Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī.

Ordination of the first woman

When King Suddhodhana died, Mahapajapati Gotami decided to attain ordination. Mahapajapati Gotami went to the Buddha and asked to be ordained into the Sangha. The Buddha refused and went on to Vesāli. Undaunted, Gotami cut off her hair and donned yellow robes and with many Sakyan ladies followed the Buddha to Vesāli on foot. Upon arrival, she repeated her request to be ordained. Ananda, one of the principal disciples and an attendant of the Buddha, met her and offered to intercede with the Buddha on her behalf. Gotami agreed to accept

the Eight Garudhammas The Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: ,here "garu" or "guru" is used as an adjective, the wikilink points to the associated sanskrit noun.See The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary entry for "garu": https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali ...

and was accorded the status of the first bhikkhuni. Subsequent women had to undergo full ordination to become nuns.

Mahāyāna

Lotus Sutra

In the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

, the Buddha bestows a prophecy upon Mahāprajāpatī that in the distant future, she will become a buddha named "Sarvasattvapriyadarśana."Roberts, Peter Alan (2018
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

References

Bibliography

*Analayo (2011)
Mahapajapati's going forth in the Madhyama agama
Journal of Buddhist Ethics 18, 268-317. *Anālayo, Bhikkhu (2016
The Going Forth of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī in T 60
Journal of Buddhist Ethics 23, 1-31. * Scott, Rachel M (2010)
Buddhism, miraculous powers, and gender - rethinking the stories of Theravada nuns
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 33 (1-2), 489-511. * *Walters, Jonathan S. (1994). �
A Voice from the Silence: The Buddha's Mother's Story
” History of Religions 33, 350–379. * Garling, Wendy (2016). ''Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life.'' Shambhala Publications. . *Garling, Wendy; H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (foreword) (2021). ''The Woman Who Raised the Buddha: The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati''. Shambhala Publications. . * Roberts, Peter Alan (2018

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotami, Mahapajabati Foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha Family of Gautama Buddha Arhats Indian Buddhists Buddhist monasticism Year of birth missing Year of death missing Buddhist nuns Indian Buddhist nuns