# Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī

_Disciple of Gautama Buddha_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/mahaprajapati-gautami
Last updated: 2026-10-12

> Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī or simply Prajāpatī was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt of the Buddha. Therefore, based on the Therī-apadāna, Gotamī is referred to by the title "Mother of the Buddha". In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from Siddhartha Gautama directly, and she became the first bhikṣuṇī.

## Quick facts

- **Place of birth:** Devadaha ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q613944#P19))
- **Occupation:** Buddhist nun; philosopher ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q613944#P106))
- **Spouse:** Śuddhodana ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q613944#P26))

## Related

- [Śuddhodana](https://diginpl.com/people/suddhodana)
- [Devdaha](https://diginpl.com/places/devdaha)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81praj%C4%81pat%C4%AB_Gautam%C4%AB) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q613944](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q613944) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Prince Siddhartha with his maternal aunt Queen Mahaprajapati Gotami.JPG by Painting by Maligawage Sarlis. Photo by MediaJet , 2009 (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_Siddhartha_with_his_maternal_aunt_Queen_Mahaprajapati_Gotami.JPG)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Prince Siddhartha with his maternal aunt Queen Mahaprajapati Gotami.JPG — Painting by Maligawage Sarlis. Photo by MediaJet , 2009, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī". DigiNepal. Last updated 12 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/mahaprajapati-gautami. Retrieved 21 October 2026.