Maya (mother of Buddha)

Maya
19th century Nepalese statue of Māyā, Musée Guimet, Paris
Born	Maya Devadaha, Koliya Kingdom
Died	Kapilavastu, Shakya Kingdom
Other names	Mahamaya
Spouse(s)	King Śuddhodana
Children	Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
Parent(s)	King Anjana (father), Queen Yashodharā (mother)
Relatives	King Suppabuddha & Dandapani (brothers), Queen Mahapajapati Gotami (sister)

Queen Māyā of Sakya (Māyādevī) was the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, the sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded, and the sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha.

In Buddhist tradition Maya died soon after the birth of Buddha, generally said to be seven days afterwards, and came to life again in a Buddhist heaven, a pattern that is said to be followed in the births of all Buddhas. Thus Maya did not raise her son who was instead raised by his maternal aunt Mahapajapati Gotami. Maya would, however, on occasion descend from Heaven to give advice to her son.

Māyā means "illusion" in Sanskrit. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā ("Great Māyā") and Māyādevī ("Queen Māyā"). In Tibetan she is called Gyutrulma and in Japanese is known as Maya-bunin (摩耶夫人). Also Sinhalese known as මහාමායා දේවී (Mahāmāyā Dēvi).

In Buddhist literature and art Queen Maya is portrayed as a beautiful fecund woman in the prime of life.

Her beauty sparkles like a nugget of pure gold. She has perfumed curls like the large black bee. Eyes like lotus petals, teeth like stars in the heavens.

From the Lalitisvara Sutra

Although sometimes shown in other scenes from her life, such as having a dream foretelling her pregnancy with Gautama Buddha or with her husband King Suddhodana seeking prophecies about their son's life, shortly after his birth, she is most often depicted whilst giving birth to Gautama, an event that is generally accepted to have taken place in Lumbini in modern-day Madhesh. Maya is usually shown giving birth standing under a tree and reaching overhead to hold on to a branch for support. Buddhist scholar Miranda Shaw, states that Queen Maya's depiction in the nativity scene follows a pattern established in earlier Buddhist depictions of the tree spirits known as yaksini.

Māyā married King Śuddhodana (Pāli: Suddhodana), the ruler of the Śākya clan of Kapilvastu. She was the daughter of King Śuddhodhana's uncle and therefore his cousin; her father was king of Devadaha.