Question

Who was the wife of Gautama Buddha?
A. Yashodhara
B. Amrapali
C. Trisala
D. Ambika

Answer 1

Hint: She was the daughter of King Suppabuddha, and Amita, sister of the Buddha's father, King Śuddhodana. She was also born on the same day in the month of "Vaishaka" as prince Siddhartha.

Step by step solution: Yashodhara was the wife of Gautama Buddha. She was the daughter of King Suppabuddha and Amita, who was the sister of King Suddhodana. Her father was Koliya while her mother came from the Shakya family. Her grandfather was Añjana, a Koliya chief.
Yashodhara had married her cousin, the Shakya prince Siddhartha, when they both aged 16. When Yashodhara aged 29, she gave birth to their one and only child, a boy whose name was Rāhula. On the $7^{th}$ night of their son’s birth, the prince had left the palace. Yaśodharā was very devastated and overcome with grief. Once prince Siddhartha left his home at night for enlightenment, taking the approval of his wife but without letting anyone else know. The very next day, everyone was astonished by the prince’s absence. Eventually, when she came to know that he had left, Yashodhara then decided to start leading a simple life. Anyhow the relatives sent her messages to convey that they would maintain her, but she did not accept those offers. A number of princes sought her hand but she rejected the proposals. Throughout his six-year absence, Princess Yaśodharā followed the news of his actions closely.

Thus, Option A is the correct answer.

Note: The Shakya and the Koliya referred to the branches of the Ādicca or the Ikshvaku dynasty. There existed no other families that were considered equal to them in the region and that is why the members of these two royal families married only among themselves.