Gautama or Prince Siddhartha was born in the Shakya Kingdom to the head of the clan, King Shuddhodhana and Queen Maya. This warrior kingdom is below the foothills of Himalayas. It is believed that Prince Siddhartha’s mother, Maya Devi conceived him in a very unique way after she had a dream on a full moon night, that a white elephant with six tusks has entered her right side of the womb.

When Maya Devi realized that she was pregnant, after a few months, she decided to go to her father’s house. On the way to her maternal home, the queen’s procession passed a garden in Lumbini Park, in Nepal. When they were crossing the garden, she felt labour pains and gave birth to the divine baby boy in a standing position while leaning against a tree in this garden. The birth was truly divine with the Saal trees, scented flowers, birds and bees accompanying.

The delivery was painless and the baby boy who emerged from Maya devi’s right side was born in a fully formed avataar. As soon as he was born, the Prince started taking seven steps. Whenever he took a step, a white lotus flower bloomed. Wise sages and saints came to bless the baby prince and predicted that the child was a divine kid and would become a great secular or religious leader.