.
(Part
One) 4.
The Prince's Education
On
the seventh day after his birth, Prince Siddhartha's mother
died. The king had another queen, who was called Prajapati Gotami.
She was the younger sister of Queen Maha Maya, and she
had given birth to a son on the same day that Queen Maha
Maya died. Prajapati Gotami gave her own son to a nurse
and brought up Prince Siddhartha, whom she loved very
much, as her own son. Prince Siddhartha could not remember
his own mother.
When
Prince Siddhartha was only a few years old, King Suddhodana
sent him to school. There were many children in his class,
all of them from noble families. His teacher was
called Sarva Mitra.
He
studied languages, reading, writing, mathematics, history,
geography, science, and games like boxing, archery, wrestling
and many others. He learnt all these subjects faster than
any other pupil in his class. He was the cleverest in
the class and the best at games. He gained distinction
in every subject and became cleverer than his teachers.
He was the wisest and the only one who asked many questions
from his teachers and elders. He was the strongest, the
tallest and the most handsome boy in the class. He was
never lazy, he never misbehaved and was never disobedient
to the teachers. He loved everybody and everybody loved
him. He was a friend to all.
