King Sudhodhana, Princess Yashodhara & Prince Rahula

Lord Buddha was a prince by birth. He was married to princess Yashodhara and even had a son by the name of Rahula. But he abandoned everything to seek enlightenment. He was successful in his endeavour and went on to preach his sermons for next many years.

I have known this story for a long time now, however, what I did not but wanted to know was about princess Yashodhara and her son Rahula. What happened to them after prince Siddhartha left them? Did they ever meet Siddhartha after he became the Buddha? What happened to his father, Suddhodhana, who had tried his best to prevent Siddhartha's renounciation of the world? These questions made me search for their answers and this is what I came across.

Suddhodhana continued to rule over Kapillavattu after Siddharta left the palace. Princess Yashodhara and her son Rahula stayed with him. However, Yashodhara renounced her luxurious life following her husband. She dressed up in a plain yellow robe and ate only one meal a day.

The Buddha returned to his palace when Rahula was seven years of age. All those who knew Siddhartha came upto greet him except Yashodhara. The Buddha himself went to meet her and was given due respect by the princess. Later, she also sent Rahula to meet his father saying he should ask for his inheritance. The Buddha ordained him.

Rahula went on to become an arahant following the Buddha's teachings. Later, Yashodhara, too, entered the order of monks and nuns. She became the chief of the female disciples who attained supernormal powers.

The Buddha met his father for the second time when the latter was close to his death. The Buddha preached him because of which Suddhodhana attained arahantship.

If you wish to know more about any of the three - Suddhodhana, Yashodhara and Rahula - then Buddhanet.net can be a good reference point. It has more information than on the Buddha's life and the people associated with him, both before and after enlightenment. Even Wikipedia has good information on this topic. I found them pretty informative. Check them out.