Siddhartha Gautama was born as the crown prince of the mighty Shakya Kingdom and nurtured to be a king in line with his royal father's aspirations. However, when he was around 29 years old, he learned about people's tremendous pain in life. He abandoned his palace life and gave up his magnificent robes and gold to uncover the reasons for this anguish and the methods to alleviate it. After nearly six years of study, self-deprivation, and severe concentration, he achieved his aim. He had attained enlightenment (a Buddha). He claimed to have then proceeded to a deer park in Sarnath (Benares), India, on the outskirts of Varanasi.