Siddharta, the "
beautiful child of the Brahman" is blessed gods, beautiful, intelligent, already advanced in all the religious
practices; its destiny is already very traced but he finds in its heart any joy nor no pleasure. It opens of it to his friend Govinda childhood which admires it. When from Samanas make by their village, Siddharta follows them, forcing the agreement of his father, and, of course, accompanied by its faithful Govinda. The two friends carry out a life of asceticism and renouncement during three years with Samanas, until the day when they cross the way of Gautama, the Buddha carried out. In the doctrines of the Master, whom it intends to propagate, Siddharta does not find what it seeks; and even, having the occasion to speak with Him, Siddharta is convinced by its doctrines, nor by no doctrines besides. Siddharta decides to go on its own way, where that this one can carry out it, while Govinda, more timid than his friend, remains with the disciples of Buddha, persuaded to have found the way which it looked for. After having understood that only could find its way to him, Siddharta crosses a river by meeting an old frontier runner, Vasudeva which makes him strong impression and predicts to him that they will be found one day. It moves towards the city, always in behaviour of Samana, quasi naked, the long and dirty hair and the beard. It sees a pretty rich woman, Kamala, which will initiate it with the pleasures of the love and the flesh and will lead it on the way of the pleasures of this world. In order to gain the favours of
beautiful Kamala, it starts to work with the service of a merchant, Kamaswami, which it exceeds soon to become itself rich. Siddharta forgot the small bird which sang in its heart. Many years are passed, and a day,
finally, Siddharta, become in its turn what made him horror, player become inveterate, disgusted of him and of the world of the pleasures that it adopted, remembers that he aspired to another thing. Understanding that it was the prey of Sansara, the world of the vicissitudes of human, Siddharta leave its richnesses and its house, leaving again towards what it seeks, being informed also that beautiful Kamala awaits a child of him. Its steps lead Siddharta towards banks of the river, where it falls asleep and finds Govinda with its alarm clock. The two friends separate with new, and Siddharta, as that had been predicted to him by Vasudeva at the time of their first meeting, will join the old frontier runner. Alleviated, Siddharta makes its training near the Vasudeva old man who learns how to him to listen to the river. Until the day when beautiful Kamala appears, in company of the young person Siddharta, the son of Siddharta. Kamala dies in his arms, and the Siddharta young person remains with the two old hermits who became Vasudeva and Siddharta. But the son is not accustomed to the roughness and the insulation of their simple life, and flees one day, plunging his father in sadness. Siddharta includes/understands finally that it acted in the same way, at the time, with his own father. Thus it is finally released of the nets of the illusion, of the Maya. Now that Siddharta almost found peace, his old friend Vasudeva leaves in the forest (i.e. reached the perfection). The faithful friend Govinda finds Siddharta become frontier runner, become "holy".