NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 10- The Sermon at Benares

English chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares, deals with the story of Gautama Buddha. Born into a royal family, Gautama Budhha at birth was named Siddhartha Gautama. At the mere age of 12, he was sent off to acquire knowledge from the Holy Scriptures and, at the age of 16, was married off to a beautiful princess. They had a son and lived a joyous bountiful royal life shielded from the cruel realities.

When he was twenty five, during one of his hunts, the Prince came upon four sights that changed his outlook towards life. They were a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. This turned out to be a revelation for him which ultimately ended in him leaving behind his royal family and all the riches he achieved during his lifetime for a spiritual journey.

Upon attaining salvation, he began preaching. His first sermon was in the holy city of Benares. Kisa Gotami was a woman who was devastated by the death of her only precious son and was knocking at every door she could find for an elixir to bring back her son. However, she failed at this relentlessly and finally appeared in front of Buddha, asking for his help.

He, however, only asked her to procure a handful of mustard seeds from a house in which death has never knocked. Hopeful, she wandered trying to find such a house but failed as death is genuinely inevitable. This was the message Buddha hoped to convey to her and get her out of her over her selfish grief. Thus, concluding that death is a tragedy that doesn't escape anyone. The wise do not sit and grieve as they know how the cycle of life and death works. The death of her only son put Kisa Gotami in selfish grief, which brought her to Budhha, and she finally understood that death could not be cheated.