Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhist religion was known as Siddhartha and was a prince of Kapilvastu, a small kingdom of the then India, which is closed to present day Nepal. Siddhartha was raised in extreme luxury so that no earthly pain and sorrow could touch him as it was foretold by the astrologers after his birth that he would become a monk when he would see a old man, a diseased man, a dead man and a monk.

Guards were posted to make sure that Siddhartha could not come in contact with the four men described by the astrologers. King Suddhodhana placed his son in the magnificent walled estates with gardens, fountains, palaces, music and beautiful women. It is said that Siddhartha lived in three palaces, especially build for him. Prince Siddhartha was married to princess Yasodhara at the age of sixteen, who was a cousin of him. Later they had a son named as Rahul. Thus, throughout his early life, Siddhartha knew nothing about sufferings and had no idea about the real world outside the enclosures. Siddhartha thus spend twenty-nine years of his life in KapilVastu as the prince.