The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was the son of Suddhodana
Gautama, the leader of the Sakya clan in northeastern India. (Hence
he is also often called Sakyamuni, the "wise man of the Sakya
clan"). His mother's name was Maya, usually referred to as "Maha
Maya" ("Maya the Great"). She died seven days after giving birth to
Siddhartha, and he was raised by Maya's younger sister, Maha
Pajapati. Siddhartha had several half-brothers, including Ananda
and Devadatta. Ananda eventually become the Buddha's attendant,
and--due to his great memory skills--is believed to be the verbatim
source of Buddha's teachings. Devadatta, on the other hand, was
jealous of Siddhartha and tried to foil his mission. The Buddha had
a wife, named Yasodhara and a son named Rahula. Even though
Yasodhara was initially furious when Siddhartha abandoned her in
his quest for enlightenment, she eventually came around to seeing
things his way and emulated his actions, though within the confines
of the palace. When Siddhartha eventually returned home (now as
Buddha), Ananda negotiated between him and Yasodhara, which
eventually resulted in Siddhartha ordaining her to be the first
female member of his order.
