1.Caste - As most Buddhas appear either in the ruling class (Kshatriya) or priestly class (Brahmin) he decided to be born in the ruling (Kshatriya) class, since this caste was the protector of all human beings.

2.Country - The Bodhisattva decided to come to the middle country of Jambu Dvipa, which is bordered to the east by Kajangal, currently known as Kajangala in the Santhal Pargana district of Bihar, to the south-east by the Salalavati River, now known as Silai Nadi in the districts of Medanipur and Hazari Bagh, to the south by Setakannika, someplace in Hazari Bagh, to the west by Brahmin village, Thuna currently known as Thaneswar in Karnal district, and to the north, by the Ushir Dhvaja Mountains (mountains of the Himalayas) this the demarcation in the Vinaya Pitaka. As Kapilavastu lies in the middle, the Boddhisattva decided to be born there.

3.Time Because renunciation and sadness need to be awakened, the Bodhisattva decided not to come at a time when the human life span was not very long. He determined to train living beings whose life span was about a hundred years.

4.Lineage The Bodhisattva decided to appear in the lineage of the ruling class of the Sakya king Suddhodana, since this lineage accorded respect both to its maternal and paternal ancestors, who had behaved faultlessly for seven generations.

5.Mother The Boddhisattva, looking for a mother who would be endowed with excellent physique and intelligence, and follow the pancha sila (five virtues), decided to appear as the son of Mahamaya (Kausalyayana, 115-117:1941).