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Śuddhodana
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Śuddhodana

सुद्धोदन

King of Shakya Kingdom

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Śuddhodana (Sanskrit: शुद्धोदन; Pali: Suddhodana), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapilavastu.

Quick facts

Place of birth
Kapilavastu wd
Place of death
Kapilavastu wd
Citizenship
Nepal wd
Occupation
politician wd

Public office

Officeholder record, tenure and sources →

Positions held wd

About

In later renditions of the life of the Buddha, Śuddhodana was often referred to as a king, though that status cannot be established with confidence and is in fact disputed by modern scholars.

Career

Quoted from Wikipedia: Śuddhodana (CC BY-SA 4.0); each sentence links the source Wikipedia cites for it. Checked 7 November 2026.

  • Many notable scholars state that the Shakya republic was not a monarchy but rather an oligarchy, ruled by an elite council of the warrior and ministerial class that chose its leader or rājā. Yale University Press
  • Furthermore, by the time of Siddharta's birth, the Shakya republic had become a vassal state of the larger Kingdom of Kosala. Wisdom Publications Yale University Press
  • In later texts, there may have been a misinterpretation of the Pali word rājā, which can mean alternatively a king, prince, ruler, or governor. dictionary.tamilcube.com

Questions

What positions has Śuddhodana held?
Positions held by Śuddhodana include: King of Nepal.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Śuddhodana · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikipedia (Nepali): सुद्धोदन · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Wikidata item Q226488 · CC0 1.0
  4. Image: Suddhodna seated on a throne Roundel 2 ivory tusk.jpg by Nomu420 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
  5. Wikipedia (English), revision used for cited facts: Śuddhodana · CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. Yale University Press: After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
  7. Wisdom Publications: The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya
  8. Yale University Press: After Buddhism
  9. dictionary.tamilcube.com

Last updated · facts checked 7 November 2026

Cite this page

"Śuddhodana". DigiNepal. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/suddhodana. Retrieved 7 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Śuddhodana, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Suddhodna seated on a throne Roundel 2 ivory tusk.jpg — Nomu420, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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