Shmoop Siddhartha Part 2 Summary
Chapter 5 Summary – “Kamala”
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Siddhartha continues to appreciate his surroundings and decides to always obey his inner voice and
to seek experience.
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He comes to a river and befriends the ferryman.
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He crashes for the night at the ferryman’s bachelor pad and dreams about Govinda.
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Let’s check out this dream: (page 40)
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In the dream: Govinda, wearing a yellow robe, approaches Siddhartha and hugs him.
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Dream, continued: Two seconds later, Govinda transforms into a woman.
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Dream, continued: Siddhartha nurses from the woman’s beautiful breast and experiences the world.
The woman has some seriously intense milk.
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The next morning, a ferryman takes Siddhartha across the river.
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The ferryman tells Siddhartha about learning from the river, which is the Most Beautiful River Ever.
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Siddhartha expresses regret that he cannot pay the ferryman.
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The ferryman tells him that he can chalk it up to pro bono work. But more importantly, the ferryman
has faith that Siddhartha will someday return. Oooh. Foreshadowing perhaps?
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Siddhartha continues walking until he reaches a village. Everyone stays away from the weird ascetic
(uhh…. him).
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Siddhartha comes to a stream where he meets a young woman washing clothes.
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They flirt, and then she invites him to have sex with her by stepping on his foot. We’re not sure how
this works, to be honest, but Siddhartha bends down and kisses her nipple. (He’s still thinking about
his dream.)
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Although he wants to sleep with her, he’s never touched a woman before and gets cold feet. His inner
voice says "no," so he leaves. INTERPRET THIS.
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Siddhartha arrives at the outskirts of a city in a beautifully fenced grove. He sees a woman ride by on a
sedan chair with a whole entourage of servants.
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She’s gorgeous. Insert whatever word you want for gorgeous here:__________________________
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He makes eye contact with her. She smiles and nods. Chemistry? Yes, definitely.
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She and her servants go inside the grove.
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Siddhartha wants to follow her, but then realizes that he still looks like a Samana, i.e., a dirty beggar.
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He learns that the woman’s name is Kamala, and that she is a famous courtesan. He now has a goal.
We don’t know what this goal is yet, but Siddhartha has it.
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He bathes, shaves, oils his hair, and arranges an appointment with her. INTERPRET THIS.
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Siddhartha asks Kamala to be his friend and teacher (in the art of Sexual Healing). Ah. Could this be
his goal?
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Kamala finds it vaguely ridiculous that an ascetic from the forest wearing a loincloth has come to her
for a sexual education.
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Kamala tells Siddhartha to get a job, lots of money, nice clothes, some perfume, and some nice
presents for her. Then he can try talking to her again.
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Siddhartha asks Kamala for some advice on where to get clothes, shoes, and money.
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He gives her an overview of his resume: the ability to think, starve (fast), and compose poetry.
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Siddhartha composes a poem for Kamala on the spot. She loves it, so she offers him one kiss. One
super-hot kiss. (pages 47-48)
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Siddhartha is stunned and wants more.
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We learn that knowing how to read and write is rare in ancient India. Duh. Stupid Samana!

Another visitor arrives; Siddhartha is quickly ushered out and offered a long, white robe.
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Although he is hungry, Siddhartha feels it isn’t right to beg for food now that he is no longer a Samana.
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The next day, he goes to see Kamala. She has set up a job interview for him with a wealthy merchant.
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Siddhartha tells Kamala that he is determined to have her, and that the Samanas taught him how to
single-mindedly focus on a goal.
Chapter 6 Summary – “Amongst the People”
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Siddhartha goes to see Kamaswami, the wealthy merchant.
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The merchant questions him about his skills and needs.
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Siddhartha has no needs, and argues that his ability to fast is an asset: he’s not troubled by the lack
of food, therefore no one can force him to do something for food. It has also taught him patience.
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When the merchant sees that Siddhartha can read and write well, he offers Siddhartha both a job
and shelter.
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Siddhartha begins to live a good life: food, baths, clothes.
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Siddhartha learns quickly and is well respected by Kamaswami. However, he looks at his job as a
game; his real interests lie with Kamala.
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Kamaswami keeps trying to get Siddhartha to be more passionate about business, but Siddhartha
remains indifferent.
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Siddhartha visits Kamala daily and she instructs him in the physical act of love. Go read that part;
we can’t do it justice.
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Although he takes great pleasure in the people around him, his experience as a Samana keeps
Siddhartha from fully empathizing with the people. He sees their lives as if from a distance; their
pains, discomforts, and problems seem completely trivial to him.
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Siddhartha feels understood and satisfied only with Kamala.
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Siddhartha sees that Kamala has the same stillness that he has. He points out that this quality has
nothing to do with intelligence, but everything to do with the resolving to have Inner Peace.
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Kamala tells Siddhartha that he is the best lover she’s had. She wants to eventually have a child
with him.
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The lovers note that because they share this special sanctuary and distance from the normal ups
and downs of life, they can never truly love each another the way other people love.
Chapter 7 Summary – “Samsara”
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As the years go by and Siddhartha accrues more and more wealth, his Samana-like qualities begin
to fade.
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They become replaced by more Material Girl-like qualities. He grows increasingly greedy, troubled
by everyday problems, and unhappy. He feels trapped by pleasure, pain, and a sense of self-hatred.
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Siddhartha engages in a lot of high-stakes gambling as way of expressing his hatred of wealth.
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He feels himself and Kamala aging. He suddenly starts associating sex with death.
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One evening, Siddhartha drinks heavily, watches dancers, and feels profoundly nauseated with
himself. Finally, he falls asleep and dreams about a songbird that belongs to Kamala. In the dream,
he finds the bird dead and he tosses it into the street.
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He becomes scared that he has just tossed out all the goodness in himself.
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In despair, Siddhartha recalls his life. He tries to remember the moments when he felt true joy and
a sense of direction. In his reflection he concludes that nothing in his life is of value to him. Even
the pleasures of his shared passion with Kamala have worn off (and this is saying something…
Kamala’s got skills). Everything has been a game to him.
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He leaves his home and his riches.
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Kamaswami sends people out to look for Siddhartha, thinking that he has been captured by
robbers.
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Kamala does not search for him. She knows Siddhartha is, at heart, a wandering Samana. She
releases her songbird from its cage.
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We learn Kamala is pregnant with Siddhartha’s child.
Chapter 8 Summary – “By the River”
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Siddhartha heads for the forest, determined never to go back to his life of wealth.
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He is depressed.
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He wanders.
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He is depressed.
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Siddhartha approaches the same river where he met the ferryman years before.
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In utter despair he clings to a coconut tree along the bank. He dreams about dropping and
submerging himself into the water. He sees the water as mirroring the emptiness within him.
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About to slip into the water, the word "Om" emanates from his soul.
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Siddhartha realizes that destroying his body will not end his suffering, and he sits down.
Thoroughly exhausted, he falls asleep.
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Siddhartha wakes up with a sense of rebirth and repeats Om to himself over and over.
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Behind him, Siddhartha notices a monk in yellow robe.
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It’s Govinda!
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Govinda has not recognized Siddhartha but merely sat by him while he slept in order to protect
him from snakes.
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Siddhartha’s like, "dude, it’s me," and Govinda’s like, "dude, what’s with the rich man outfit?"

Siddhartha explains he has left the world of wealth and is now on a pilgrimage. Govinda leaves to
get back to being a monk.
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Siddhartha forces himself to think. He has no possessions, and so feels joyful and childlike.
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Siddhartha finds himself amused at the course his life has taken and sees his life’s path reflected in
the flow of the river.
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Siddhartha concludes that in order to return to himself, he has had to experience profound
sorrow.
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He realizes that life as a Samana fueled his intellectual growth and arrogance, allowing him to
thrive rather than to perish.
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Siddhartha remains entranced by the beauty and flow of the river.
Chapter 9 Summary – “The Ferryman”
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Siddhartha observes the river and realizes that every movement of the water is new.
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He is painfully hungry and finds the ferryman that he met years before. The man’s name is
Vasudeva.
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Siddhartha asks for a ride across the river. He has no money to offer the ferryman, but asks if
Vasudeva will accept his fine clothes. The ferryman is confused, but agrees.
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Siddhartha asks if can move in with Vasudeva and learn about the river as the ferryman’s
apprentice.
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Vasudeva graciously invites Siddhartha to stay in his home and offers him a meal.
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Siddhartha eats a simple plate of bread and mango and recounts his life to Vasudeva. He is
astounded by the Ferryman’s profound ability to listen.
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Vasudeva remarks that he cannot teach, but that he can help Siddhartha to learn from the river –
to learn how to be devout and listen.
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Vasudeva rarely speaks, but the men work hard together and focus on listening to the river.
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It says to them, "Come in for a dip!"
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More accurately, the river teaches the two men about life.
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For instance, one day Siddhartha realizes that the river exists only in the present: it is everywhere
at once, upstream, downstream, at the sea, and at the source. Life is the same way. Siddhartha
realizes that his existence as a boy and his existence as an old man are not separate. Everything
has its existence in the present.
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In the voice of the river Siddhartha hears the holy word "Om" being repeated over and over again.
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Vasudeva and Siddhartha live joyously on the river, listening to its stories and finding silent
companionship in one another. Travelers begin mistaking the two for brothers.
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One day Siddhartha learns from traveling monks that Gotama Buddha is gravely ill and will die.
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Meanwhile, Kamala has joined the followers of the Buddha and is making a pilgrimage to see the
holy man. She rests on the riverbank with her son who is tired and wants to eat. While resting,
Kamala is bitten by a snake.
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Vasudeva hears her scream and brings her home.
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Siddhartha immediately recognizes Kamala (she’s still gorgeous).
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He also realizes that the boy is his son.
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They clean her wound but she is badly poisoned. Siddhartha calms his crying son.
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When she regains consciousness, Kamala recognizes Siddhartha but sees how profoundly he has
changed.
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She dies before she is able to tell Siddhartha that finding him was as good as it would have been to
find Gotama Buddha.
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Siddhartha sits with Kamala for a long time after she dies. Later he sits awake and listens to the
river. While he suffers, the river offers him a sense of unity. Siddhartha becomes peaceful.
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In the morning, Vasudeva helps him construct a funeral pyre.
Chapter 10 Summary – “The Son”
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Siddhartha’s son grieves for Kamala. Siddhartha treats him with consideration and respect
although he realizes the boy has been spoiled by a wealthy lifestyle.
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Siddhartha struggles to try to win his son’s love and acceptance with kindness, but his efforts are
in vain.
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His son came to the river out of necessity, not desire. The kid wants out of the boondocks.
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Siddhartha wishes desperately to protect his son from pain and suffering, but is reminded by
Vasudeva and the wisdom of the river that one cannot teach certain things. They must be learned
through experience.
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Although Siddhartha understands the concept, his love for his son is overwhelming. He cannot
bear to let the boy go.
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Siddhartha’s son feels trapped by his father’s endless kindness. After a huge you-just-don’t-getme-Dad! outburst, the young man steals money and a boat and runs away.
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Siddhartha and Vasudeva construct a raft to rescue the boat.
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Vasudeva advises Siddhartha to let the boy return to the city, but Siddhartha wants to bring his
son back.
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Siddhartha searches the forest. He enters the town sad, but no longer worried, and stands near the
gate where he first saw Kamala. He relives the moments of his life and feels a sense of profound
emptiness.
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He crouches by the gate in meditation on the hot, dusty road.

A monk from Kamala’s garden places two bananas in front of him (which, it seems, is a generous
meal by the book’s standards), but Siddhartha is deep in meditation and doesn’t notice.
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Vasudeva finds Siddhartha. Siddhartha greets him happily and they return home. Neither speaks
of the boy.
Chapter 11 Summary – “Om”
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Siddhartha feels warm toward the ordinary people who he transports across the river. Rather
than the contempt that he previously felt, he now sees their troubles as understandable and
honorable.
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Siddhartha considers the possibility that his awareness of the unity of the universe, too, is mere
childishness, but this idea doesn’t bother him.

Although Siddhartha grows wiser and wiser, he still feels wounded by his son.
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One day, Siddhartha intends to go into the town to look for his son. Then Siddhartha remembers
that he himself wasn’t exactly a model son. He had left his own father the way his son left him.
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He hears the river laugh at the repetition of life’s patterns.
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Siddhartha returns to his hut and tells Vasudeva of his experience in the town where Vasudeva
had found him and about his intention of going into the town earlier that day.
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Siddhartha recognizes Vasudeva as God himself. Whoa.

Vasudeva brings Siddhartha out to the river and tells him there is something he has still not heard.
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With Vasudeva’s guidance, Siddhartha listens intently. For the first time he hears all the voices of
the river as one single continuum of all life.
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Siddhartha feels his soul merge into unity.
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Vasudeva touches Siddhartha on the shoulder.
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Now that Siddhartha has reached enlightenment, Vasudeva plans to leave the river and enter in to
the unity of all things. Vasudeva takes off for the forest, leaving Siddhartha as the ferryman.
Chapter 12 Summary – “Govinda”
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Govinda is still traveling with the men in yellow robes. They look up to him now because he’s wise
and old, but Govinda is still unsatisfied and seeks enlightenment.
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Govinda hears about this wise ferryman, and decides to go talk to him.
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That ferryman is Siddhartha. Govinda doesn’t realize this.
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Siddhartha tells Govinda that because he is striving towards a single goal he is missing everything.
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OK we know that’s counter-intuitive. Siddhartha is arguing that because Govinda is focused so
much on the search, he cannot find what he is searching for. Mull that over.
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Siddhartha identifies himself to Govinda. Govinda is startled.
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The following morning, Govinda questions Siddhartha about whether he follows a doctrine.
Siddhartha explains that although he has had many teachers, he follows no doctrine.
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Siddhartha explains his belief that although knowledge can be communicated, wisdom can not.
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He argues that in every truth, the opposite is also true, that time is illusory, that suffering is
necessary to learning, and that there is no division between the world and perfection.

Siddhartha uses a stone as an example for Govinda. The stone, because of its profound stone-like
nature, is everything. And everything is enough.

Although Siddhartha’s words contradict Gotama Buddha’s, that doesn’t matter. Words are
meaningless.
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Huh? Govinda is confused. Before leaving, he asks Siddhartha for any final words of wisdom.

Siddhartha tells Govinda to kiss him on the forehead.

Govinda kisses his friend’s forehead and suddenly sees a continuous, unending stream of faces and
people and images of painful and joyous things all shifting into one another.

After kissing Siddhartha, he is unsure if a single second or eternity has passed. Govinda identifies
Siddhartha’s smiling, radiant face as that of the Buddha and bows down in veneration.