is a ferryman who teaches Siddhartha the importance of listening. The first night that he hosts Siddhartha, he listens perfectly to his story and shows him how to listen to the voice of the river. This provokes Siddhartha’s understanding of natural things and the word of oneness ‘om’. Vasudeva never seems to lose faith or suffer the same griefs as Siddhartha, but he also lives alone and we sense that his wisdom has come from having loved his wife, and been through the trials that Siddhartha is now facing. We learn how close Vasudeva is to enlightenment, even though he is not a thinker or a preacher, when he leaves Siddhartha at the end, to join ‘the oneness’.
Vasudeva Quotes in Siddhartha
The Siddhartha quotes below are all either spoken by Vasudeva or refer to Vasudeva. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2, Chapter 10
Quotes
“Can I part with him?” he asked softly, embarrassed. “Give me more time, dear friend! Look, I am fighting for him, I am wooing his heart, I want to capture it with love and friendly patience. Let the river speak to him too someday; he too is called.”
Related Characters:
Siddhartha (speaker), Siddhartha, Vasudeva, Young Siddhartha
Related Symbols:
The River
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Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 11
Quotes
Radiant was Vasudeva’s smile, it hovered, luminous, over all the wrinkles in his old face just as the om hovered over all the voices of the river. Bright shone his smile when he looked at his friend, and bright now glowed the very same smile on Siddhartha’s face.
Related Characters:
Siddhartha, Vasudeva
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
“I am going into the forest, I am going into the oneness,” said Vasudeva, radiant.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Vasudeva Character Timeline in Siddhartha
The timeline below shows where the character Vasudeva appears in Siddhartha. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part Two, Chapter 5 – Kamala
The next day, Siddhartha gets a ride with the ferryman across the river and the ferryman tells him about his love for the river, how...
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Part Two, Chapter 9 – The Ferryman
Siddhartha knows he wants to stay by the river, and resolves to find the ferryman who had showed him kindness before. He thinks this is the way to start his...
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...not wish any longer to be judged for these clothes. He offers them to the ferryman in exchange for his apron. He also asks if he can be the ferryman’s assistant...
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Siddhartha watches Vasudeva row with admiration for his calm strength and focus. He remembers the fondness he had...
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Vasudeva listens carefully. Listening is the ferryman’s great virtue. Siddhartha feels that Vasudeva is absorbing all...
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Siddhartha accepts and praises Vasudeva for his ability to listen, hoping to learn it from him one day, but Vasudeva...
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On another occasion, Siddhartha asks the ferryman if it is true that the river is all voices, each woman, man and creature....
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...try to go on towards the river but Kamala collapses. Young Siddhartha is distraught. Luckily, Vasudeva hears Kamala’s cry and comes to her and carries her to the hut. Siddhartha sees...
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...learned from the Brahmins and sings it. His son calms down and sleeps. Siddhartha and Vasudeva know that Kamala is dying. She awakes again in great pain. She tells Siddhartha that...
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...figure stretched out and pale. He has a deep feeling of the eternity of life. Vasudeva prepares food for him, but he doesn’t eat. He spends the night sitting outside the...
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Early in the morning, Vasudeva comes out and Siddhartha tells him that he has been reflecting, listening to the river...
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Part Two, Chapter 10 – The Son
...and learn to love him, is disappointed. Young Siddhartha is defiant and rude. One day, Vasudeva approaches Siddhartha about it. It saddens him to see his friend so misused. He sees...
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...he can woo his son and that eventually, young Siddhartha will hear the river too. Vasudeva agrees that certainly the boy is destined for something, but they do not know what...
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Siddhartha is saddened and ashamed but when Vasudeva suggests that the boy should be brought back to the town, Siddhartha is reluctant to...
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Vasudeva had never spoken so much at once. Siddhartha thinks restlessly about it. He knows Vasudeva...
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...for the child’s safety and begs that they make a raft and follow him. But Vasudeva responds that they will make a raft only to fetch the boat back and they...
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They build the raft and go over to the boat that has been abandoned. Vasudeva takes an axe with them, because he suspects that young Siddhartha may have destroyed their...
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Part Two, Chapter 11 – Om
Siddhartha has gradually learned what real wisdom is and he is even more drawn to Vasudeva, as the embodiment of the oneness and the smile that real wisdom is all about....
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Siddhartha goes back to the hut, wanting to open his heart to Vasudeva, the great listener. Vasudeva is old and slow now, but still wears his serene smile....
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Siddhartha stops thinking about his wound and the presence of Vasudeva fills him up. Vasudeva’s transformation seems right and just. He realizes that he views Vasudeva...
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...son and lonely father, and himself. The voice of the river is lamenting and determined. Vasudeva urges Siddhartha to keep listening and listen better. The images of his friends and family...
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...to him in a single word, ‘om’. Siddhartha’s face takes on the same radiance of Vasudeva’s. He feels his wound blossoming and his ego becoming one with everything else.
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Siddhartha’s suffering has stopped. He knows divine, perfect knowledge. Vasudeva sees that Siddhartha has this knowledge thanks to the river and happily he tells Siddhartha...
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Part Two, Chapter 12 – Govinda
...but Siddhartha doesn’t see much difference between words and thoughts. It is things that matter. Vasudeva showed this in his belief in the river. He became venerable without books. Govinda is...
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