Shakya

The Shakya (or Sakya) were a clan of Hindu kshatriyas. The Shakyas lived near the foothills of the Himalayas.

Related Topics:
Clan - Hindu - Kshatriya - Himalayas

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Perhaps the most famous Shakya was Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya also claimed to be a descendent of Shakyas.

Related Topics:
Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha - Chandragupta Maurya

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The Shakyas are mentioned in the accounts of the birth of the Buddha (Mahāvastu, c. end of 2nd century BCE) as the "solar race", probably in association with a sun worship:

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:"There lived once upon a time a king of the Shakyas, a scion of the solar race, whose name was Suddhodana. He was pure in conduct, and beloved of the Shakyas like the autumn moon. He had a wife, splendid, beautiful, and steadfast, who was called the Great Maya, from her resemblance to Maya the Goddess."

Related Topics:
Suddhodana - Great Maya

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The Shakyas formed more or less independant tribes or kingdoms in the foothills of the Himalaya. They may have been connected to the Indo-Scythians, or Sakas.

Related Topics:
Indo-Scythians - Sakas

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