"A hermit-sage of Kapilavastu， India. According to the scriptures， when Shakyamuni was born， King Shuddhodana asked Asita to examine the newborn child's physiognomy. Asita， perceiving the thirty-two features of a great man， foretold that if the boy remained in the secular world， he would become a wheel-turning （supreme） king by the age of twenty-nine， but if he renounced secular life， which was more probable， he would achieve supreme wisdom and attain Buddhahood. Asita lamented that since he himself was already ninety years old， he would die before the prince attained enlightenment and thus would be unable to hear the Buddha's teaching."