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Siddhartha (novel)
Siddhartha (German: [ziˈdaʁta] ( listen)) is a 1922 novel by
Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self- Siddhartha
discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the
Gautama Buddha. The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in
German, in a simple, lyrical style. It was published in the U.S. in
1951 and became influential during the 1960s. Hesse dedicated the
first part of it to Romain Rolland[1] and the second part to Wilhelm
Gundert, his cousin.

The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in Sanskrit language,

siddha (achieved) + artha (what was searched for), which together
means "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has
attained his goals".[2] In fact, the Buddha's own name, before his
renunciation, was Siddhartha Gautama, Prince of Kapilavastu. In
this book, the Buddha is referred to as "Gotama".[3]

Contents
Plot First edition cover

Characters Author Hermann Hesse

Major themes Translator Hilda Rosner

Film versions Country Germany

English translations Language German

Translations in Indian languages Genre Philosophical fiction

In popular culture Publisher New Directions (U.S.)

References Publication 1922, 1951 (U.S.)

date
External links
Media type Print (paperback)
Pages 152
Plot OCLC 9766655 (https://www.
worldcat.org/oclc/9766
The story takes place in the ancient Nepal kingdom of Kapilavastu. 655)
Siddhartha decides to leave his home in the hope of gaining spiritual Dewey
833.912
illumination by becoming an ascetic wandering beggar of the Decimal
Śamaṇa. Joined by his best friend Govinda, Siddhartha fasts,
becomes homeless, renounces all personal possessions, and intensely meditates, eventually seeking and
personally speaking with Gautama, the famous Buddha, or Enlightened One. Afterward, both Siddhartha
and Govinda acknowledge the elegance of the Buddha's teachings. Although Govinda hastily joins the
Buddha's order, Siddhartha does not follow, claiming that the Buddha's philosophy, though supremely

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wise, does not account for the necessarily distinct experiences of each person. He argues that the
individual seeks an absolutely unique, personal meaning that cannot be presented to him by a teacher.
He thus resolves to carry on his quest alone.

Siddhartha crosses a river and the generous ferryman, whom Siddhartha is unable to pay, merrily
predicts that Siddhartha will return to the river later to compensate him in some way. Venturing onward
toward city life, Siddhartha discovers Kamala, the most beautiful woman he has yet seen. Kamala, a
courtesan, notes Siddhartha's handsome appearance and fast wit, telling him that he must become
wealthy to win her affections so that she may teach him the art of love. Although Siddhartha despised
materialistic pursuits as a Śamaṇa, he agrees now to Kamala's suggestions. She directs him to the employ
of Kamaswami, a local businessman, and insists that he have Kamaswami treat him as an equal rather
than an underling. Siddhartha easily succeeds, providing a voice of patience and tranquility, which
Siddhartha learned from his days as an ascetic, against Kamaswami's fits of passion. Thus Siddhartha
becomes a rich man and Kamala's lover, though in his middle years he realizes that the luxurious
lifestyle he has chosen is merely a game that lacks spiritual fulfillment. Leaving the fast-paced bustle of
the city, Siddhartha returns to the river fed up with life and disillusioned, contemplating suicide before
falling into a meditative sleep, and is saved only by an internal experience of the holy word, Om. The very
next morning, Siddhartha briefly reconnects with Govinda, who is passing through the area as a
wandering Buddhist.

Siddhartha decides to live the rest of his life in the presence of the spiritually inspirational river.
Siddhartha thus reunites with the ferryman, named Vasudeva, with whom he begins a humbler way of
life. Although Vasudeva is a simple man, he understands and relates that the river has many voices and
significant messages to divulge to any who might listen.

Some years later, Kamala, now a Buddhist convert, is traveling to see the Buddha at his deathbed,
accompanied by her reluctant young son, when she is bitten by a venomous snake near Siddhartha's
river. Siddhartha recognizes her and realizes that the boy is his own son. After Kamala's death,
Siddhartha attempts to console and raise the furiously resistant boy, until one day the child flees
altogether. Although Siddhartha is desperate to find his runaway son, Vasudeva urges him to let the boy
find his own path, much like Siddhartha did himself in his youth. Listening to the river with Vasudeva,
Siddhartha realizes that time is an illusion and that all of his feelings and experiences, even those of
suffering, are part of a great and ultimately jubilant fellowship of all things connected in the cyclical
unity of nature. After Siddhartha's moment of illumination, Vasudeva claims that his work is done and
he must depart into the woods, leaving Siddhartha peacefully fulfilled and alone once more.

Toward the end of his life, Govinda hears about an enlightened ferryman and travels to Siddhartha, not
initially recognizing him as his old childhood friend. Govinda asks the now-elderly Siddhartha to relate
his wisdom and Siddhartha replies that for every true statement there is an opposite one that is also true;
that language and the confines of time lead people to adhere to one fixed belief that does not account for
the fullness of the truth. Because nature works in a self-sustaining cycle, every entity carries in it the
potential for its opposite and so the world must always be considered complete. Siddhartha simply urges
people to identify and love the world in its completeness. Siddhartha then requests that Govinda kiss his
forehead and, when he does, Govinda experiences the visions of timelessness that Siddhartha himself
saw with Vasudeva by the river. Govinda bows to his wise friend and Siddhartha smiles radiantly, having
found enlightenment. Thus he experiences a whole circle of life. He realizes his father's importance and
love when he himself becomes a father and his own son leaves him to explore the outside world.

Characters
Siddhartha: The protagonist.

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Govinda: Close friend of Siddhartha and follower of Gotama.

Siddhartha’s Father: A Brahmin who was unable to satisfy Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment.
The Samanas: Traveling ascetics who tell Siddhartha that deprivation leads to enlightenment.
Gotama: The Buddha, whose Teachings are rejected but whose power of self-experience and self-
wisdom is completely praised by Siddhartha.
Kamala: A courtesan and Siddhartha's sensual mentor, mother of his child, Young Siddhartha.
Kamaswami: A merchant who instructs Siddhartha on business.
Vasudeva: An enlightened ferryman and spiritual guide of Siddhartha.
Young Siddhartha: Son of Siddhartha and Kamala. Lives with Siddhartha for a time yet runs away
to Adan.

Major themes
In Hesse's novel, experience, the totality of conscious events of a human life, is shown as the best way to
approach understanding of reality and attain enlightenment—Hesse's crafting of Siddhartha's journey
shows that understanding is attained not through intellectual methods, nor through immersing oneself
in the carnal pleasures of the world and the accompanying pain of samsara; rather, it is the completeness
of these experiences that allows Siddhartha to attain understanding.

Thus, individual events are meaningless when considered by themselves—Siddhartha's stay with the
Shramanas and his immersion in the worlds of love and business do not ipso facto lead to nirvana, yet
they cannot be considered distractions, for every action and event gives Siddhartha experience, which in
turn leads to understanding.

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life"
(Lebenskrankheit) by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the
Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.[4] The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was
that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an
attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred
teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures. His intention was to attain to that 'completeness'
which, in the novel, is the Buddha's badge of distinction."[5] The novel is structured on three of the
traditional stages of life for Hindu males (student (brahmacharin), householder (grihastha) and
recluse/renunciate (vanaprastha)) as well as the Buddha's four noble truths (Part One) and eight-fold
path (Part Two) which form twelve chapters, the number in the novel.[6] Ralph Freedman mentions how
Hesse commented in a letter "[my] Siddhartha does not, in the end, learn true wisdom from any teacher,
but from a river that roars in a funny way and from a kindly old fool who always smiles and is secretly a
saint."[7] In a lecture about Siddhartha, Hesse claimed "Buddha's way to salvation has often been
criticized and doubted, because it is thought to be wholly grounded in cognition. True, but it's not just
intellectual cognition, not just learning and knowing, but spiritual experience that can be earned only
through strict discipline in a selfless life".[7] Freedman also points out how Siddhartha described Hesse's
interior dialectic: "All of the contrasting poles of his life were sharply etched: the restless departures and
the search for stillness at home; the diversity of experience and the harmony of a unifying spirit; the
security of religious dogma and the anxiety of freedom."[8] Eberhard Ostermann has shown how Hesse,
while mixing the religious genre of the legend with that of the modern novel, seeks to reconcile with the
double-edged effects of modernization such as individualization, pluralism or self-disciplining.[9]

The character Siddhartha honors the character Gotama (Gautama Buddha) by not following him in
person, but by following Gotama's example. This is an example of the Theravada tradition evolving later,
but modeled by the Buddha's philosophy and values. This tradition holds that the path to enlightenment

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is a solitary one and that no person can lead another person to enlightenment. The codification of the
Buddha's philosophy such as the Four Noble Truths and The Eight-Fold path and the Pali cannon are
helpful guides. The path of each person is unknowable, and it's up to each person to discover the way.[10]
The irony is that the fictional character Siddhartha, who seemingly disrespects the Gotama, is the only
follower of Gotama that achieves enlightenment because he does not worship him like a god, which is the
Theravada tradition.[10] That's why Hesse gives the central character the name Siddhartha which is also
the original name of the Buddha, it's foreshadow. And to add to the confusion, the fictional Siddhartha
has a very similar life to that of the Gotama Buddha. Until Siddhartha meets the Gotama, the book could
be mistaken for a historical novel about the origins of the Buddha.

Film versions
A film version entitled Siddhartha was released in 1972. It stars Shashi Kapoor and was directed by
Conrad Rooks.

In 1971, a surrealistic adaptation as a musical Western was released as Zachariah. John Rubinstein
starred in the title role and George Englund was the director. Don Johnson played Matthew, the
equivalent of Govinda.

English translations
In recent years several American publishers have commissioned new translations of the novel, which had
previously been impossible because of copyright restrictions. In addition to these newer translations,
Hilda Rosner's original 1951 translation is still being sold in a number of reprint editions put out by
various publishers. The newest translations include:

1951: Hilda Rosner

1998: Sherab Chödzin Kohn, for Shambhala Classics, introduction by Paul W. Morris and translator's
preface
1999: Stanley Applebaum, for Dover Thrift Edition, introduction and glossary anon.
2002: Joachim Neugroschel, for Penguin, introduction by Ralph Freedman and translator's note
2006: Susan Bernofsky, for Modern Library, foreword by Tom Robbins and translator's preface
2007: Rika Lesser, for Barnes & Noble, introduction by Robert A. Thurman

Translations in Indian languages

Telugu translation of "Siddhartha" by Bellamkonda Raghava Rao from English translation of the book
by Hilda Rosner (1957)
Centre for South Indian Studies, Malayalam translation by R. Raman Nair (1990).
Hermann Hesse Society of India, Sanskrit translation by L Sulochana Devi (2008)
Hermann Hesse Society of India, Hindi translation by Prabakaran Hebbar Illath (2012)
Hermann Hesse Society of India, Marathi translation by Avinash Tripathi (2007)
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (িস াথ – হরমান হস), Translated into Bengali by Zafar Alam,
Published by Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, Dhaka, Bangladesh. (2002)
Tamil translation of Siddhartha by Jevita Naresh (2017)
Siddhartha translated in Punjabi by DR. Hari Singh

Siddhartha in Sanskrit
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In popular culture
Musical references

The 1972 Yes song "Close to The Edge" from the Close to the
Edge album was inspired by the book.
Nick Drake wrote the song "River Man" (sample (https://upload.w
ikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/River_man_Nick_Drake_28_sec.
ogg)) and is the second listed song from Nick Drake's 1969
album Five Leaves Left, remastered and released as a single in
2004. According to Drake's manager, Joe Boyd, Drake thought
of the song as the centrepiece of the album.
Pete Townshend's song "The Ferryman" was written for a
modern production of Siddhartha in June 1976.
The Slovenian rock band Siddharta was named after the novel.
Ten Mile Tide wrote a song entitled "Siddhartha" which provides
a musical version of the novel.
Ralph McTell wrote the song "The Ferryman" also based on the Author Hermann Hesse
novel for his 1971 album You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here.
Canadian composer Claude Vivier in 1976 wrote an orchestral Translator L Sulochana Devi.
piece "Siddhartha", inspired by the book. Artist: Devaplan
The song "The Samanas" written by Doyle Bramhall II refers to Illustrator Devapalan
the journey of the Samana in this book. Country Germany
Referenced on the album Dark Matter Dreams by Field Division
on the track called "Siddhartha" and referenced in the track "Lay Language German (Translated
Cursed". into Sanskrit)
Jerry Cantrell named the nineteenth track of his 2002 Publisher Hermann Hesse
sophomore album “Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2” after the Society of India
book (Varanasi)
The band Syd Arthur, formed in 2003 in Canterbury, got their
Publication 1922, 2010 (india.)
name from the book. date
Referenced in the song 'The Horse that I Rode in on' (https://ww
w.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJWVfqD5J8) on the album Injured Media type Print (Hard Bound)
While Faking Own Death (2010) by Joe Rut Pages 164
ISBN 978-81-906854-0-5
Other cultural references

Fred Mayer published the photographic essay "Homage to Hermann Hesse and his Siddhartha",
which is based on Hesse's novel.[11]
In season one of Veronica Mars, episode 19 ("Hot Dogs"), movie star Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin)
is seen reading Siddhartha on the couch while his two children, Trina and Logan, speak with him.[12]
In the season 7 finale of Shameless on Showtime, Fiona Gallagher finds a copy of Siddhartha in her
dead mother's belongings. Fiona is seen reading the book throughout the episode and recites an
unheard excerpt at Monica's funeral.[13]
In S4E3 of Parks and Recreation, Chris Traeger claims to have speedread the entirety of the novel
at a traffic stop.
In S2E2 of the series American Gods (TV series) we see young Shadow Moon read an English copy
of the novel.
The Canadian band Eight Seconds' song "Where's Bula" was inspired by the book.

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Siddhartha a 1972 Indo- American movie based on the novel

References
1. "Siddhartha: eine indische Dichtung by Hermann Hesse - Project Gutenbe…" (https://archive.today/2
0120524125305/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2499). gutenberg.org. 24 May 2012. Archived
from the original (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2499) on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
2. "The Life of Siddhartha Gautama" (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/siddhartha.html).
Webspace.ship.edu. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
3. "Gotama" (http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee417/Impaler702/img116-Copy.jpg?
t=1342689832). Il226.photobucket.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
4. Donald McClory Introduction to Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha. Picador. London 1998 pp 24-25.
5. Donald McClory introduction to Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha. Picador. London 1998 p26.
6. Donald McClory introduction to Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha. Picador. London 1998 pp41-42.
7. Ralph Freedman. Hermann Hesse. Pilgrim of Crisis. Jonathan Cape. London. 1979 p 233.
8. Ralph Freedman. Hermann Hesse. Pilgrim of Crisis. Jonathan Cape. London. 1979 p 235.
9. Eberhard Ostermann. Hermann Hesses Siddhartha. Einführung und Analyse. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform, 2012, ISBN 978-1481082808, pp. 130-153.
10. "Buddhist traditions - God and truth - GCSE Religious Studies Revision" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bites
ize/guides/zs6ncdm/revision/4). BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
11. "Hommage Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse" (http://www.fred-mayer.com/blurb_EN.html). Fred Mayer.
Retrieved 2016-07-01.
12. om (2005-04-19). "Veronica Mars: Hot Dogs Episode Trivia" (http://www.tv.com/shows/veronica-mar
s/hot-dogs-398410/trivia/). TV.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
13. McNutt, Myles. "The Shameless finale serves the forest, but misses the trees" (https://www.avclub.co
m/tvclub/shameless-finale-serves-forest-misses-trees-247657). avclub.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.

External links
Full texts of Siddhartha in German (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2499) and English translation
(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2500) from Project Gutenberg
Audio recording in English of Siddhartha (https://archive.org/details/siddhartha_ap_librivox) from
Librivox.org
Siddhartha in Portuguese (https://www.wook.pt/livro/siddhartha-hermann-hesse/12623217)

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