The Mountain Goddess

by Shelley Elizabeth Schanfield

  Both versions inform the Yasodhara of my imagination. Possibly because I reconnected with Buddhism through the martial arts, she came to me as a spirited, rebellious girl, a warrior’s daughter, as gifted as her husband in spiritual and martial endeavors, but flawed in a different way. While he rejects royal power, she is drawn to it, and while he chooses to leave his child, she stays with hers, though she has mixed feelings about motherhood all along.

  I’ve said that there were two key events in which Yasodhara plays a crucial role. The first is Siddhartha’s leave-taking, and Book II in the Sadhana Trilogy ends there. The second dramatic event occurs when Siddhartha returns as the Buddha, and this will take place in Book III, which weaves the fates of Dhara and Siddhartha with those of Mala, Kirsa, Sakhi, Chandaka, and many other characters, legendary or completely imagined.

  For more traditional versions of Buddha’s story, and to get a feel for his times and extraordinary teachings, see Karen Armstrong’s Buddha, Iqbal Singh’s Gautama Buddha, John Strong’s The Buddha: A Short Biography, and Edward J. Thomas’s The Life of Buddha as Legend and History. I also highly recommend Stephen Batchelor’s Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, not only for his insights into the earliest Buddhist literature but also for its account of his own remarkable spiritual journey.

  To read more about India’s mythology, I recommend any of Devdutt Pattanaik’s books, such as Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata; Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana; and Shikhandi and other tales they don’t tell you, a fascinating collection of gender-bending tales. I also highly recommend Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History—don’t be put off by the heft, it’s no dull tome but a lively, highly entertaining journey through India’s past.

  And if you’re a sci-fi fan, you might enjoy getting acquainted with India’s gods through Roger Zelazny’s classic, Lord of Light (not to be confused with the god of the same name in G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones epics). A taste from the opening pages: “His followers called him Mahasamatman, and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha – and the –atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god. But then, he never claimed not to be… Circumstances being what they were, neither admission could be of any benefit. Silence, though, could.”

  Links to these and to more books about India’s fascinating mythologies and religions are found on my website, www.shelleyschanfield.com.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks especially to Lloyd Stoolman, Joshua and Jessie Stoolman, and Doris Harris for many years of patient support.Thanks also to my teacher and editor Jane Ratcliffe, who understood exactly what I wanted to achieve and whose spot-on critiques kept me on track; to Meghan Pinson for stellar copyediting; and to her colleague Rhonda Erb for precise proofreading.

  Readers, writers, friends, yogis, and family who contributed, knowingly or not: Elli Andrews, Deedra Climer Bass, Liz Brauer, Syd Bridges, Janet Cannon, David Chan, Theresa Crothers, Stephanie Renée dos Santos, Kim Fairley, Stephanie Feldstein, Robyn Ford, Fritz Freiheit, Dan Gilbert, Aura Glaser, Lois Godel, Donelly Haddon, Ellen Halter, Skipper Hammond, Karen Hildebrandt, Yma Johnson, Jan Joyce, Ray Juracek, Elisabeth Khan, Linda Kurtz, Fartumo Kusow, Linda Longo, Kay Mahan, Rachel Lash Maitra, Kate Maple, Les McGraw, Patrick McHugh, Kate Mendeloff, Beth Neal, Meadow Rose Snyder O’Brien, Kaye Posselt, Jane Riches, Sue Rosen, AJ Schanfield, Taryn Scherer, Christy Shannon, Susan Shore, Casey Simpson, Karen Simpson, Kate Stone, Shanti Thirumalai, Pat Tompkins, Dave Wanty, Karen Wolff, Ben Yates.

  My gratitude also to the many scholars whose works inform my books.

  In memory of my parents, Maurice and Norma Schanfield; parents-in-law, Alfreda and Leo Stoolman; my sister, Serene Schanfield; and my brother-in-law, Ron Stoolman.

  About The Author

  While pursuing a black belt in Tae Kwon Do with her son, Shelley Schanfield became fascinated with the Buddhist roots of the martial arts. By profession a librarian, she immersed herself in research about the time, place, and spiritual traditions, including yoga, that 2500 years ago produced Prince Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. The stories of the Buddha’s first women followers inspired her to write The Tigress and the Yogi, the first novel in a trilogy focusing on their struggles.

  Shelley lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband and two cats. She hung up her black belt to practice Iyengar yoga. Both disciplines have enriched her world and the world of her novels.