Showing posts with label ksatriya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ksatriya. Show all posts

Why Buddhists shave their heads?

Buddha shaving his head, bas-relief panel at Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
Photo by Gunkarta

In the upper picture we see Buddha, then prince Siddharta Gautama, shaving his head, while people around him are holding his crown, sword and princely jewelery, and his horse Kanthaka is standing on his right side. This gesture is seen as a sign of declining his kshatriya warrior class status and becoming an ascetic hermit.