enlightenment thus making him the heir of an inheritance that does not perish." Most traditions relate that the Buddha then called Śāriputra and asked him to ordain Rāhula. Rāhula was ordained, becoming the first śrāmaṇera (novice monk), and probably the first person in the monastic order to receive ordination in a formal way. In some versions of the story, such as the 9th-century Chinese Weicengyou Yinyuan Jing (), a group of young boys were ordained together with him. The king discovered that his grandson, his son Nanda and a number of other young men in the royal family had then received ordination and left the palace. Seeing his daughter grieve, he asked the Buddha that from now on, he only ordain people with the consent of their parents. Śuddhodana explained that Rāhula's ordination was a great shock to him. The Buddha assented to the proposal. This rule was later expanded in the case of women ordaining, as both parents and the husband had to give permission first to allow women to join the order of monks and nuns. In some versions of the story of Rāhula's ordination, Yaśodharā also protested, but relented in the end. The Mahāvastu states, however, that Rāhula asked to ordain himself, and was eventually granted permission by Yaśodharā and Śuddhodana. Archaeologist Maurizio Taddei has noted that in many Gandhāran art depictions, Rāhula's life is linked to that of a previous life of the Buddha, the hermit Sumedha. The Buddha giving his spiritual heritage to his son is compared to that of Sumedha allowing the Buddha Dīpaṃkara to walk over him, which was followed by Dipaṃkara predicting that Sumedha will become a Buddha in a future life. Both the figure of Gautama Buddha giving his inheritance to his son, and the figure of Dīpaṃkara Buddha giving his inheritance of Buddhahood to Sumedha are depicted with flames emitting from their bodies; both scenes are depictions of inheritance, filial and disciple piety; both may have been considered by 5th-century Buddhists to be representations of "eager youth". Enlightenment and death According to the Pāli texts, once Rāhula had become novice, the Buddha taught Rāhula regularly. His instructions were very age-specific, using vivid metaphors and simple explanations. The Buddha's teachings have led to numerous discourses being named after Rāhula in the Early Buddhist Texts. Pāli texts relate how Rāhula grew up to become a novice that was diligent, dutiful, amenable and