Wooden Mayadevi Statue

Hancrafted wooden Mayadevi statue.

Queen Mayadevi was the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, the sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. She was sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha.

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