Tribes in Ancient India c53.53

c53.53

The *Lalitavistara* seems to suggest that Śuddhodana had a crowded harem, when it says that Māyādevī was his chief queen, being at the head of a thousand ladies.⁸ But this appears to be a mere poetic exaggeration, for the Pāli books speak of only two wives of the king. Prince Siddhārtha had only one wife according to all accounts, and, according to the *Lalitavistara*, even the hand of this girl was not granted to him, although he was a prince, until he could satisfy the proud Śākya father of his knowledge of the *śilpas* or arts, by an open exhibition of skill in warfare as well as the finer arts.¹ Siddhārtha’s wife is named Yaśodharā in the *Mahāvastu*, and her father is called Mahānāma.²