Page 249 - 9 teachers social book 9 @ 2077 ctp_Neat

Siddhartha got the turning point in his life when he saw birth, sickness, old age and the
death. He was very sad and very curious to know the truth. At the age of 29 he left the
palace and family members. He did all sorts of activities to find out the answers to the
problems and causes of the problems but could not find. He started doing meditation
under the Bodhi tree in Gaya. After forty-nine days of his meditation under the Bodhi
tree he got enlightenment. He found the meaning of life, causes of sorrow and the
solutions to solve all sorts of problems. The findings of Gautam Buddha are known
as Four Nobel Truths. He also find out the Eight Fold Paths. He taught the lesson
of peace and non-violence. According to Buddha, the state of supreme liberation is
Nirvana which is the perfect peace of mind, that is free from ignorance, greed, hatred
and anger.
The Maurya Emperor of India, Ashoka visited the birthplace of Gautam Buddha,
Lumbini after 294 years of the death of Gautam Buddha. He erected a commemorative
pillar of 6.7m tall inscribed “Hidabudhe Jaate Shakyamuni” which means “this is the
birthplace of Gautam Buddha”. The pillar is popularly known as the Ashoka Pillar
and today also it is describing the history of the Shakya dynasty and Gautam Buddha.

To the south of the Shakya state there was the powerful state of Kosala. By
700 BC Kosala became a great power and began to annex smaller neighbours by using
political influences. Virudhaka, a powerful ruler of Kosala, conquered the Shakyas.

Activity

Ask your elderly family members about the history of your clan. Prepare a tree
chart and submit it to your teacher.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the meaning of Shakya?
2. Who established Kapilvastu? Explain the history of origin of Kapilvastu.
3. Who founded Buddhism? Explain the reason of the establishment of Buddhism.
4. Who was the father of Suddhodhan.
5. How were the rulers of the Shakya clan chosen?
6. Explain the importance of the Shakya dynasty in Nepalese history.

Community Work

Collect different pictures of your family members and make a collage and paste in your
classroom.

249 Dynamic Social Studies - Book IX