Shakya

Shakya, also transliterated Sakya, refers to an ancient clan whose traditional homeland lay in the Shakya kingdom centered on Kapilavastu, in the border region of present-day southern Nepal and northern India. The Shakyas were a Kshatriya lineage that ruled a small polity around Kapilavastu and its environs, with a royal line headed by a king, such as Suddhodana in the period associated with the life of the Buddha.

Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, was born into the Shakya clan in Lumbini, near Kapilavastu, according to Buddhist tradition. His father, King Suddhodana, and his mother, Queen Maya, were Shakyas. The Shakya territory is closely linked to key Buddhist sites, including Lumbini and Kapilavastu, which figure prominently in the Buddha’s life story.

Over time, Shakya sovereignty declined as the region came under the influence of expanding empires. The name Shakya persists in historical and genealogical contexts within Nepal and Indian chronicles and remains a surname for communities claiming Shakya ancestry. In Buddhist literature, the Shakyas are cited as one of the early and influential clans of the Indian subcontinent and as the inhabitants of Kapilavastu.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a similarly named school is called Sakya; this is a separate tradition and geography, though sharing the etymological root. The Sakya school was founded in Tibet by the Khön family and is not to be confused with the Shakya clan of the Buddha’s homeland.