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| The Sermon at Benares 10 UP Board Question Answer |
"The Sermon at Benares" narrates the journey of Siddhartha Gautama from a sheltered prince to the 'Enlightened One' (The Buddha), and his teachings on the inevitability of death.
📍 From Prince Siddhartha to Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C. – 483 B.C.) was a prince who lived a protected life for twenty-five years. He was married to a princess and had a son. However, while out hunting, he witnessed four sights that changed his life: a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. These sufferings moved him so deeply that he left his royalty to seek enlightenment concerning the world's sorrows. After seven years of wandering, he sat under a peepal tree and attained enlightenment, renaming the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom).
📍 The First Sermon at Benares
He became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened) and preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, the most holy dipping place on the River Ganges. This sermon reflects his wisdom about a deep kind of suffering.
📍 The Story of Kisa Gotami
Kisa Gotami had an only son who died. In her deep grief, she carried the dead child to her neighbors asking for medicine. Finally, she was directed to Sakyamuni (The Buddha). Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seed, but with a condition: it must be taken from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.
Kisa Gotami went from house to house, but everywhere she found that "the living are few, but the dead are many". She realized that there was no house where someone beloved had not died. This experience taught her that death is common to all and that she had been selfish in her grief.
📍 The Core Teaching: Accept Death to Find Peace
The Buddha taught that the life of mortals is brief, troubled, and combined with pain. Just as ripe fruits are in danger of falling and earthen vessels are destined to break, all living beings are subject to death.
- Neither fathers nor relatives can save someone from death.
- Grieving, weeping, or lamenting will not bring peace of mind; instead, it will make the body suffer and the pain greater.
- True peace is obtained only by "drawing out the arrow" of lamentation, complaint, and grief.
"बनारस में प्रवचन" (The Sermon at Benares) कहानी गौतम बुद्ध के जीवन और उनकी शिक्षाओं पर आधारित है। यह पाठ हमें बताता है कि कैसे सिद्धार्थ गौतम 'बुद्ध' बने और उन्होंने मृत्यु के शाश्वत सत्य के बारे में संसार को क्या सीख दी।
📍 राजकुमार सिद्धार्थ से बुद्ध तक का सफर
सिद्धार्थ गौतम (563 ई.पू. – 483 ई.पू.) उत्तर भारत के एक राजकुमार थे। उन्हें बारह वर्ष की आयु में हिंदू पवित्र ग्रंथों के अध्ययन के लिए भेजा गया और चार वर्ष बाद उन्होंने एक राजकुमारी से विवाह किया। पच्चीस वर्ष की आयु तक वे सांसारिक दुखों से पूरी तरह अनजान थे। एक बार शिकार पर जाते समय उन्होंने चार दृश्य देखे: एक बीमार व्यक्ति, एक वृद्ध व्यक्ति, एक शव यात्रा और अंत में एक भिक्षु को भीख माँगते देखा। इन दृश्यों ने उन्हें इतना विचलित कर दिया कि उन्होंने आत्मज्ञान (enlightenment) की खोज में अपना राजसी जीवन त्याग दिया। सात वर्षों तक भटकने के बाद, उन्होंने एक पीपल के पेड़ के नीचे बैठकर प्रतिज्ञा की कि जब तक ज्ञान प्राप्त नहीं होगा, वे नहीं उठेंगे। सात दिन बाद उन्हें ज्ञान प्राप्त हुआ और उन्होंने उस पेड़ का नाम 'बोधि वृक्ष' (ज्ञान का वृक्ष) रखा। यहीं से उन्हें 'बुद्ध' कहा जाने लगा।
📍 बनारस में प्रथम प्रवचन
बुद्ध ने अपना पहला प्रवचन बनारस शहर में दिया, जो गंगा नदी के सबसे पवित्र तटों में से एक है। उनके इस प्रवचन में मृत्यु के अपरिहार्य सत्य और जीवन के गहरे दुखों के बारे में ज्ञान निहित है।
📍 किसा गौतमी की कहानी
किसा गौतमी का एक ही पुत्र था जिसकी मृत्यु हो गई थी। अपने दुख में वह अपने मृत बच्चे को लेकर पड़ोसियों के पास दवा माँगने गई, लेकिन लोगों ने कहा कि वह अपना मानसिक संतुलन खो चुकी है। अंत में वह बुद्ध के पास पहुँची। बुद्ध ने उसे सांत्वना दी और कहा कि वे उसके पुत्र को ठीक कर सकते हैं, लेकिन इसके लिए उन्हें 'एक मुट्ठी सरसों के दाने' चाहिए। बुद्ध ने एक शर्त रखी: "सरसों के दाने ऐसे घर से होने चाहिए जहाँ किसी ने अपना बच्चा, पति, माता-पिता या मित्र न खोया हो"।
किसा गौतमी घर-घर गई, लेकिन उसे ऐसा कोई घर नहीं मिला जहाँ किसी प्रियजन की मृत्यु न हुई हो। अंत में थककर वह सड़क किनारे बैठ गई और शहर की टिमटिमाती रोशनी को देखने लगी। उसे अहसास हुआ कि मनुष्य का जीवन भी इन रोशनियों की तरह है जो टिमटिमाती हैं और बुझ जाती हैं। उसे अपनी स्वार्थपरता का बोध हुआ और वह समझ गई कि मृत्यु सभी के लिए समान है।
📍 बुद्ध की मुख्य शिक्षा
बुद्ध ने सिखाया कि इस संसार में जीवित प्राणियों का जीवन कष्टों से भरा और संक्षिप्त है। जिस प्रकार पके हुए फलों को गिरने का डर रहता है और मिट्टी के बर्तन अंततः टूट जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार मृत्यु से कोई नहीं बच सकता।
- मृत्यु पर न तो पिता का वश चलता है और न ही रिश्तेदारों का।
- शोक (grief) करने या रोने से मन को शांति नहीं मिलती, बल्कि शरीर को कष्ट होता है और दर्द बढ़ जाता है।
- शांति केवल वही प्राप्त कर सकता है जो शोक, शिकायत और दुख के तीर को अपने मन से निकाल देता है।
| Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sermon | Moral advice by a religious leader | धर्मोपदेश/प्रवचन |
| Afflicted with | Affected by suffering or disease | कष्ट या बीमारी से ग्रस्त |
| Enlightenment | A state of high spiritual knowledge | आत्मज्ञान/दिव्य ज्ञान |
| Funeral Procession | A group of people moving for a burial | शव-यात्रा |
| Alms | Money or food given to poor people | भिक्षा |
| Wandered | Moved aimlessly from place to place | भटकना/भ्रमण करना |
| Bodhi Tree | The Tree of Wisdom | बोधि वृक्ष (ज्ञान का वृक्ष) |
| Inscrutable | Impossible to understand | रहस्यमयी/दुर्बोध |
| Grief | Deep sorrow, especially caused by death | शोक/गहरा दुख |
| Procure | To obtain or get something | प्राप्त करना/जुटाना |
| Sakyamuni | Another name for Buddha | शाक्यमुनि (बुद्ध) |
| Handful | A small quantity that fills a hand | मुट्ठी भर |
| Pitied | Feeling of sorrow for others' trouble | दया करना |
| Weary | Feeling very tired | थका हुआ |
| Flickered | Shone with an unsteady light | टिमटिमाना |
| Extinguished | Put out or ceased to burn | बुझ जाना |
| Mortals | Those who must die eventually | नश्वर/मरणशील |
| Brief | Short in duration | संक्षिप्त/थोड़ा |
| Earthen vessels | Pots made of baked clay | मिट्टी के बर्तन |
| Slaughter | Killing of animals for food | वध/क़साई खाना |
| Lamentation | Expression of deep regret or sorrow | विलाप/शोक प्रकट करना |
| Dampened | Make less strong or intense | कम करना (उत्साह/दुख) |
| Surrendered | To give up or stop resisting | त्याग देना/समर्पण करना |
| Blessed | Made holy or consecrated | आशीर्वाद प्राप्त/धन्य |
| Immortal | Living forever; never dying | अमर |
(A) Siddhartha Gautama | (B) Sakyamuni | (C) Vardhamana | (D) Suddhodana
Correct Answer: (A) Siddhartha Gautama
(A) Ten | (B) Twelve | (C) Fifteen | (D) Twenty-five
Correct Answer: (B) Twelve
(A) Five years | (B) Seven years | (C) Ten years | (D) Twelve years
Correct Answer: (B) Seven years
(A) Wisdom Tree | (B) Bodhi Tree | (C) Holy Tree | (D) Buddha Tree
Correct Answer: (B) Bodhi Tree
(A) Magadha | (B) Benares | (C) Lumbini | (D) Kushinagar
Correct Answer: (B) Benares
(A) To get food | (B) To ask for medicine | (C) To find a job | (D) To seek money
Correct Answer: (B) To ask for medicine
(A) Rice | (B) A handful of mustard seed | (C) Flowers | (D) Wheat
Correct Answer: (B) A handful of mustard seed
(A) They must be fresh | (B) They must come from a house with no deaths | (C) They must be given by a man | (D) They must be black
Correct Answer: (B) They must come from a house with no deaths
(A) People were rude | (B) Everyone was happy | (C) Death is common to all | (D) Seeds were expensive
Correct Answer: (C) Death is common to all
(A) Getting eaten | (B) Falling | (C) Rotting | (D) Growing big
Correct Answer: (B) Falling
(A) Earthen vessels | (B) Glass bottles | (C) Iron boxes | (D) Paper bags
Correct Answer: (A) Earthen vessels
(A) Siddhartha | (B) The Buddha | (C) Kisa Gotami | (D) The Monk
Correct Answer: (B) The Buddha
(A) A crying baby | (B) A sick man | (C) A poor farmer | (D) A dancing girl
Correct Answer: (B) A sick man
(A) By crying loudly | (B) By drawing out the arrow of lamentation | (C) By staying alone | (D) By ignoring others
Correct Answer: (B) By drawing out the arrow of lamentation
(A) Delhi | (B) Benares | (C) Haridwar | (D) Prayagraj
Correct Answer: (B) Benares
(A) Clear | (B) Impossible to understand | (C) Visible | (D) Easy
Correct Answer: (B) Impossible to understand
(A) That she was lucky | (B) That she was selfish in her grief | (C) That she was brave | (D) That she was wise
Correct Answer: (B) That she was selfish in her grief
(A) Ten | (B) Twenty-five | (C) Thirty | (D) Forty
Correct Answer: (B) Twenty-five
(A) It becomes strong | (B) It suffers and becomes pale | (C) It feels no pain | (D) It grows faster
Correct Answer: (B) It suffers and becomes pale
(A) Rich | (B) Blessed | (C) Sad | (D) Famous
Correct Answer: (B) Blessed
Ans: Siddhartha was sent away for schooling at the age of twelve.
Ans: He studied Hindu sacred scriptures.
Ans: He saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms.
Ans: These sights moved him so much that he went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
Ans: The lights symbolized the lives of mortals that flicker up and are extinguished again.
Ans: She realized that death is common to all and that she had been selfish in her grief.
Ans: Just as all earthen vessels are destined to break, human life is destined to end in death.
Ans: Everyone—young and adult, fools and wise—is subject to the power of death.
Ans: The arrow refers to lamentation, complaint, and grief.
Ans: One becomes blessed by overcoming all sorrow and becoming free from it.
Ans: His original name was Siddhartha Gautama.
Ans: He was sent away for schooling at the age of twelve.
Ans: He was schooled in the Hindu sacred scriptures.
Ans: He lived as a prince for about ten years after his marriage.
Ans: He saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms.
Ans: He wandered for seven years.
Ans: He attained enlightenment under a peepal tree.
Ans: It means the 'Tree of Wisdom'.
Ans: He preached his first sermon at the city of Benares.
Ans: Benares is considered the most holy dipping place on the River Ganges.
Ans: She was a woman who had lost her only son and went to Buddha for help.
Ans: She asked for medicine to cure her dead child.
Ans: He asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died.
Ans: Every house she visited had lost a loved one, like a child, parent, or friend.
Ans: She realized that death is common to all and she was being selfish in her grief.
Ans: Human life is troubled, brief, and combined with pain.
Ans: He compared it to ripe fruits in danger of falling and earthen vessels destined to be broken.
Ans: No, grieving only increases pain and makes the body suffer without saving the deceased.
Ans: By drawing out the 'arrow' of lamentation, complaint, and grief.
Ans: That person will become free from sorrow and be blessed.
Ans: It refers to living beings that are subject to death.
Ans: It is the expression of deep sorrow or grief.
Ans: To find a way to end the sufferings of the world.
Ans: It is another name for Gautama Buddha.
Ans: He attained it after seven days.
Ans: That lives flicker and are extinguished just like lights.
Ans: She felt she was being selfish by not accepting that death is a universal fate.
Ans: Something that is impossible to understand or interpret.
Ans: Surrendering all selfishness in this valley of desolation.
Ans: The text is by Betty Renshaw.


