Kanthaka ( in Pali and Sanskrit) (6th century BC, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India) was a favourite white horse of length eighteen cubits that was a royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who later became Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha used Kanthaka in all major events described in Buddhist texts prior to his renunciation of the world. Following the departure of Siddhartha, Kanthaka died of a broken heart.
In the court of King Suddhodarna, Kanthaka was...
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Kanthaka ( in Pali and Sanskrit) (6th century BC, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India) was a favourite white horse of length eighteen cubits that was a royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who later became Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha used Kanthaka in all major events described in Buddhist texts prior to his renunciation of the world. Following the departure of Siddhartha, Kanthaka died of a broken heart.
In the court of King Suddhodarna, Kanthaka was the most skillful and able horse, and the favourite of Crown Prince Siddhartha, whenever Siddhartha needed to go outside the palace. Siddhartha had been lavished and pampered in a series of purpose-built palaces by Suddhodarna in order to shield him from thoughts of pain and suffering. This was done due to a prophecy by the ascetic Asita, who predicted that Siddhartha would renounce the throne to become a spiritual leader were he to contemplate human suffering. Kanthaka is first described in relation to the events leading up to the marriage...
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