Doniger's Siddhartha By Ambedkar Is Not A Myth

A myth is known to be a lie or a made-up story, but Wendy Doniger has found a different meaning. Doniger says that a myth is a story about the past or future events that are written as a sacred text for a group of people (Doniger, 1998, 27). So, when asked if the story of the life of the Buddha by Ambedkar is or is not a myth, according to our definition of a myth Ambedkar’s piece would be considered one, it also, by her definition, is a myth. This is shown in many ways by Ambedkar, along with other authors who have written stories about the life of the Buddha. He writes his version of the story to be more factual, whereas others may be more appealing to the readers and learners. Additionally, the multiple stories available can be both an advantage and a

He is trying the tell the story about Siddhartha Gautama’s transformation into The Buddha be as factual and real as possible. In Ambedkar’s story, Siddhartha was just born not unusual from anyone else, but in, The Story of Buddhism, Donald Lopez states “…his mother dreamed that a white elephant had entered her womb. Ten lunar months later, as she strolled in a garden, the child emerged, not by the usual route, but from under her right arm.” (Lopez, 2001, 37). Now, it is unknown to me whether Lopez’s statement is true or not, but Ambedkar does not go into that much detail or say that Siddhartha is born in an unusual way. Ambedkar once was an untouchable, who then transferred into the Buddhist religion. Since Ambedkar changed religions, he wanted to tell the story of the conversion of Siddhartha into The Buddha the way he understood it best. He wanted to help the others who have converted to Buddhism understand the Buddha in a simple way, rather than the complex views other retellings have dictated The Buddhas renunciation