| buddha बुद्ध Definition: m. (with Buddhists) a fully enlightened man who has achieved perfect knowledge of the truth and thereby is liberated from all existence and before his own attainment of nirvāṇa- reveals the method of obtaining it, (especially) the principal buddha- of the present age (born at kapila-vastu- about the year 500 B.C. his father, śuddhodana-, of the śākya- tribe or family, being the rāja- of that district, and his mother, māyā-- devī-, being the daughter of rāja- su-prabuddha-  ;hence he belonged to the kṣatriya- caste and his original name śākya-muni- or śākya-siṃha- was really his family name, while that of gautama- was taken from the race to which his family belonged;for his other namesSee ;he is said to have died when he was 80 years of age, prob. about 420 B.C. ;he was preceded by 3 mythical buddha-s of the present kalpa-, or by 24, reckoning previous kalpa-, or according to others by 6 principal buddha-s ;sometimes he is regarded as the 9th incarnation of viṣṇu- etc.) |