Siddhartha Gautama was the historical founder of Buddhism. He was born a Kshatriya warrior prince in ancient India which is now located in present-day Lumbini,Nepal. The dates of his birth and death are still a point of controversybut most scholars "suggested that the Buddha died within approximately a few decades on either side of 400 B.C.". His particular family of Sakya Kshatriyas were of Brahmin lineage (Sanskrit: gotra), as indicated by the family name "Gautama". 19th-century scholars, such as Eitel, connected it to the Brahmin Rishi Gautama. In many Buddhist texts, Buddha is said to be a descendant of the Brahmin Sage Angirasa. For example, "In the Pāli Mahavagga "Angirasa" (in Pāli Angirasa) occurs as a name of Buddha Gautama who evidently belonged to the Angirasa tribe...". Scholar Edward J. Thomas too connected Buddha with sages Gautama and Angirasa. After asceticism and meditation, Siddhartha Gautama discovered the Buddhist Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
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BODHI TREE
The Bodhi Tree ("Tree of Awakening," also known as the Bo Tree) in Bodhgaya is a direct descendent of the tree under which Siddharta Gautama is attained enlightenment.
After 49 days of meditation, it was here that Siddharta Gautama became the Buddha, the "Enlightened One."
