Soon afterward, Prince Siddhartha and Princess Yashodhara were married. The King wanted to be certain that his son would never desire to leave the kingdom, so he ordered not one but three magnificent palaces to be built for the new couple. “Make them as beautiful as possible,” he told the chief builder. “I want them to be so magnificent that the people entering them will think they are in heaven.
“I want one to be a summer palace, made of cool marble and surrounded by refreshing pools and fountains. The second will be the winter palace, warm and comfortable. And the third will be for the rainy season. Place these palaces in the middle of a large park, with beautiful scenery in every direction. And surround the park with a large wall, so that nothing unpleasant from the outside world can ever get in. Everything is to be so perfect that Prince Siddhartha will never be tempted to leave.”
The King did everything possible to make these new homes attractive to the Prince. He had the most skilled musicians in his kingdom play there throughout the day and into the night. All the servants were beautiful young dancing girls, and the chefs in the kitchen were instructed to serve a never-ending variety of delicious food. Nothing was allowed into the palaces that might disturb the Prince’s mind and make him want to leave.
And so for many years Prince Siddhartha lived in these heavenly surroundings. From morning to night he was entertained in a thousand ways. He never heard any sound that was not sweet and pleasant and never saw anything that was not beautiful. For instance, if one of the servant girls became ill, she was removed from the palace and was not allowed to return until she was better again.
In this way the Prince never saw sickness or anything that might disturb his gentle mind. The King ordered that no one speaking to the Prince should ever mention anything sad or depressing. And even if one of the plants in the garden began to droop or wilt, it was immediately snipped off by a special gardener. Thus the Prince never even saw a faded or dying flower! In all these ways, then, he was kept ignorant of the suffering and unpleasantness in the world. Time passed as if in a dream. Yashodhara gave birth to a son, Rahula, and everything seemed perfect. The King was very pleased, glad that his plan to keep the Prince interested in the royal life was working out so well. But it was not meant that Siddhartha, whose birth was the cause for all the world’s rejoicing, should pass his life in such idle splendor. Eventually, when the time was right, he would discover the true purpose of his life.
