Lumbini

Overview

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in southern Nepal, near the Indian border. Buddhist tradition holds that Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born here. It is one of the four principal pilgrimage sites of Buddhism and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pilgrims from Buddhist communities worldwide visit the Maya Devi Temple, which marks the birth spot, and worship at the monasteries surrounding it.

Present

Lumbini is managed by the Lumbini Development Trust, a body established by the Government of Nepal. The core of the site is the Sacred Garden, which contains the Maya Devi Temple, the Ashoka pillar, and the Puskarini pond. Inside the Maya Devi Temple, a marker stone identifies the spot regarded as the exact place of the Buddha's birth. Surrounding the Sacred Garden is an international monastic zone, where Buddhist communities from countries including Thailand, Myanmar, China, South Korea, and Germany have built monasteries and meditation centers in their own architectural traditions. Monks and nuns live and practice at these monasteries. Pilgrims visit throughout the year, with the largest numbers arriving for Buddha Jayanti, the annual celebration of the Buddha's birth, held on a full moon that usually falls in April or May.

Religious Significance

Lumbini is one of the four principal pilgrimage sites of Buddhism, together with Bodh Gaya in India, where Buddhists hold the Buddha attained enlightenment, Sarnath, where he gave his first teaching, and Kushinagar, where he died. Buddhist tradition holds that Queen Maya Devi, wife of the ruler of the nearby kingdom of Kapilavastu, gave birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama in a garden at Lumbini while traveling to her parental home. Siddhartha later left his royal life, attained enlightenment, and became known as the Buddha, meaning the awakened one. His teachings became the foundation of Buddhism. Buddhist tradition also holds that the Buddha himself named the four places connected to his birth, enlightenment, first teaching, and death as the sites his followers should visit. Tradition further holds that Maya Devi bathed in the Puskarini pond beside the temple before the birth. Pilgrims meditate, chant, make offerings in the Sacred Garden, and circumambulate (walk around in veneration) the temple and the Ashoka pillar.

History & Structure

An inscribed stone pillar identifies Lumbini as a place of veneration from at least the 3rd century BCE. The pillar was erected in 249 BCE by Ashoka, an Indian emperor who adopted Buddhism and promoted it across his empire. Its inscription records that Ashoka visited the site because the Buddha was born there. Excavations beneath the Maya Devi Temple have uncovered brick structures from the 3rd century BCE and the remains of a timber shrine dated to the 6th century BCE. Pilgrimage to the site declined after the 15th century, and its location was forgotten until 1896, when the pillar and its inscription were identified. The present Maya Devi Temple, a white rectangular building, was completed in 2003 to protect the excavated remains and the marker stone. It is located in the Sacred Garden beside the Puskarini pond, surrounded by the ruins of ancient monasteries and stupas (dome-shaped Buddhist shrines). Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Additional Resources

• Official website: Lumbini Development Trust
• UNESCO: Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha