Christ, an Aryan tribe named Sakya dwelt in
Kapilavastu, 120 miles north of Benares. The king of the country had a
son, Siddharta, gifted with supernatural powers both of body and mind.
When the prince had reached his eighteenth year he was allowed to choose
his bride, and his choice fell on the beautiful Yasodara; but in order
to obtain her hand he had to vanquish in open contest those of his
people who were most proficient in manly exercises. First came the
bowmen, who shot at a copper drum. Siddharta had the mark moved to
double the distance, but the bow that was given him broke. Another was
sent for from the temple--of unpolished steel, so stiff that no one
could bend it to get the loop of the string into the groove. To
Siddharta, however, this was child's play, and his arrow not only
pierced the drum, but afterwards continued its flight over the plain.

The second trial was with the sword. With a single stroke each of the
other competitors cut through the trunk of a fine tree, but with
lightning rapidity Siddharta's blade cut clean through two trunks
standing side by side. As the trees remained unmoved, the other
competitors were jubilant and scoffed at the prince's blunt sword, but a
light puff of wind rustled through the tops of the trees and both fell
to the ground.

The last trial was to subdue a wild horse which no one could ride. Under
Siddharta's powerful hand it became gentle and obedient as a lamb.

Then the prince led his bride to the splendid palace of Kapilavastu. The
king feared that the wickedness, poverty, and misfortune which prevailed
in the world without might trouble the prince's mind, and he therefore
had a high wall built round the palace, and guards posted at the gates.
The prince was never to pass out through them.

For some time the prince lived happily in his paradise, but one day he
was seized with a desire to see the condition of men out in the world.
The king gave him permission to leave the palace grounds, but issued
orders that the town should be decorated as for a festival, and that all
the poor, crippled, and sick people should be kept out of sight. The
prince drove through the streets in his carriage drawn by bulls. There
he saw an old man, worn and bent, who held out his withered hand,
crying, "Give me an alms, to-morrow or the next day I shall die." The
prince asked whether this hideous creature, so unlike all the others he
had seen, was really a man, and his attendant replied