Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a

Buddhist pilgrimage The most important places in Buddhism are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India and southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Rajgir. This is the area where Gautama Buddha lived and taught, and the main sites connected t ...

site in the

Rupandehi District Rupandehi District ( ne, रुपन्देही जिल्ला; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, ...

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. It is the place where, according to

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth to

Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

at around 566

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

. Gautama, who, according to Buddhist tradition, achieved Enlightenment some time around 528 BCE, became

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

and founded

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Lumbini is one of many magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha. Lumbini has a number of older temples, including the Mayadevi Temple, and various new temples, funded by Buddhist organisations from various countries, have been completed or are still under construction. Many monuments,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and a museum, and the Lumbini International Research Institute are also within the holy site. Also, there is the Puskarini, or Holy Pond, where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he had his first bath. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, then achieved ultimate Enlightenment and finally relinquished their earthly forms. The

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

is currently constructing a major Buddhist Monastery in Lumbhini. Lumbini was made a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1997.

In Buddha's time

In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was situated in east of Kapilavastu and southwest

Devadaha Devdaha (Deva Daha, देवदह) is a municipality in Rupandehi District of Nepal, the ancient capital of Koliya Kingdom, located 7 km east of Lumbini and east of Butwal and shares a border with Nawalparasi district on the east si ...

Shakya Shakya (Pali, Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern Sub-Himalayan Range, sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age i ...

, an oligarchic republic. According to Buddhist tradition, it was there that the Buddha was born. A pillar discovered at

Rupandehi Rupandehi District ( ne, रुपन्देही जिल्ला; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011 ...

in 1896 is believed to mark the spot of

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

's visit to Lumbini. The site was not known as Lumbini before the pillar was discovered. The translation of Inscription reads:See Mukerji: Asoka, p. 27; see p. 201f for details "When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse (?) and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lumbini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce)." The park was previously known as

, 2 mi () north of Bhagavanpura. The Sutta Nipáta (vs. 683) states that the Buddha was born in a village of the Sákyans in the Lumbineyya Janapada. The Buddha stayed in Lumbinívana during his visit to Devadaha and there preached the Devadaha Sutta.

Pillar of Ashoka

In 1896, former

Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese Army The Chief of the Nepalese Army (or Gorkhali Army) ( ne, नेपाली सेनाको प्रधानसेनापति) is the military position of army head of the Nepalese Army, initially known as ''Gorkhali Army''. The Chief of th ...

General

Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana ''Commanding-General His Highness Raja'' Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana ( ne, खड्ग शमशेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा) or Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana previously known as Khadga Shamsher Kunwar Rana ...

and

Alois Anton Führer Alois Anton Führer (26 November 1853 – 5 November 1930) was a German indologist who worked for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). He is known for his archaeological excavations, which he believed proved that Gautama Buddha was born in ...

discovered a great stone pillar at

, according to the crucial historical records made by the ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

in the 7th century CE and by another ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim

Faxian Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...

in the early 5th century CE. The Brahmi inscription on the pillar gives evidence that

, emperor of the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

, visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha. The inscription was translated by Paranavitana: Lumbini pillar Medieval inscription

At the top of the pillar, there is a second inscription by king

Ripumalla Ripu Malla () was the Maharajadhiraja of the Khasa Kingdom who reigned in the early 14th century. He is best remembered for being last visitor to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lord Buddha that left inscription of his visit. In 13 ...

(13-14th century CE), who is also known from an inscription at the

Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...

pillar: A second pillar of Ashoka is located about 22 kilometers to the northwest of Lumbini, the

pillar (with inscription), and a third one 24 kilometers to the west, the

Gotihawa Gotihawa (formerly called Gutivā in Western sources) is a village development committee located about southeast of Kapilavastu, in Kapilvastu District, in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a popu ...

pillar (without inscription).

Excavation at the Mayadevi Temple in 2013

Lumbini - Mayadevi Temple from South, Lumbini (9244243566)

According to

Robin Coningham Robin Andrew Evelyn Coningham, FSA, FRAS (born 2 December 1965) is a British archaeologist and academic, specialising in South Asian archaeology and archaeological ethics. He has been Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology since 2005 and UNESC ...

, excavations beneath existing brick structures at the Mayadevi Temple at Lumbini provide evidence for an older timber structure beneath the walls of a brick Buddhist shrine built during the Ashokan era (3rd-century BCE). The layout of the Ashokan shrine closely follows that of the earlier timber structure, which suggests a continuity of worship at the site. The pre-Mauryan timber structure appears to be an ancient tree shrine. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the wooden postholes and optically stimulated luminescence dating of elements in the soil suggests human activity began at Lumbini around 1000 BCE. The site, states Coningham, may be a Buddhist monument from 6th-century BCE. Other scholars state that the excavations revealed nothing that is Buddhist, and they only confirm that the site predates the Buddha.

Lumbini complex

Lumbini is in length and in width. The holy site of Lumbini is bordered by a large monastic zone in which only monasteries can be built, no shops, hotels or restaurants. It is separated into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the

Theravadin ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

monasteries, the western having

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

and

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

monasteries. There is a long water filled canal separating the western and eastern zones, with a series of brick arch bridges joining the two sides along the length. The canal is serviced by simple outboard motor boats at the north end which provides tours.The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the

Ashokan pillar The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expressi ...

and the Mayadevi Temple, a site traditionally considered to be the birthplace of the Buddha. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries perform chanting and meditation at the site. File:Nepal DSCN2126a.jpg, Ancient ruins at Lumbini File:Lumbini, Buddhist pilgrims 2, Tree, Nepal.jpg, Bodhi tree File:Mayadevi Temple and ruins of ancient monasteries in Lumbini 03.jpg, Mayadevi Temple and ruins of ancient monasteries in Lumbini Lumbini complex is divided into three areas: the Sacred Garden, the Monastic Zone and the Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village. The Sacred Garden remains the epicenter of the Lumbini area and consists of the birthplace of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and other monuments of archaeological and spiritual importance such as the Mayadevi Temple, the

Ashoka Pillar The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the express ...

, the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture, Puskarini Sacred Pond and other structural ruins of Buddhist stupas and viharas. The Monastic Zone, spanning an area of 1 square mile is divided into two zones: the East Monastic Zone which represents

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

school of Buddhism and the West Monastic Zone which represents

and

school of Buddhism, with their respective monasteries on the either side of a long pedestrian walkway and canal. Marking the monastic spot as a sacred pilgrimage site, many countries have established Buddhist stupas and monasteries in the monastic zone with their unique historical, cultural and spiritual designs.The Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village comprises Lumbini Museum, Lumbini International Research Institute, World Peace Pagoda of Japan, Lumbini Crane Sanctuary and other administrative offices. File:Zhong Hua Chinese Buddhist Monastery, Lumbini, Nepal.jpg, Chinese Monastery File:Royal Thai Monastery, Lumbini.jpg, Royal Thai Monastery File:Garden of Field of Stupas (German Monastery) - Lumbini Development Zone - Lumbini - Nepal (13848651175).jpg, German Monastery File:2015-03-16 Lumbini（Sri Lanka temple）ルンビニ・スリランカ寺 DSCF1296.jpg, Sri Lankan Temple File:Stupa in Lumbini.jpg, South Korean Temple File:Austrian monastery 2.jpg, Austrian Monastery File:French monastery.jpg, French Buddhist Monastery File:2015-03-16 Lumbini（Cambodian Monastery）ルンビニ・カンボジア寺 DSCF1438.jpg, Cambodian Monastery File:Singapore monstery.jpg, Singapore monastery File:Temple By Canada.jpg, Canadian monastery File:Vietnamese Temple (Phat Quoc Tu) in Lumbini, Nepal 2019-04-09.jpg, Vietnamese Temple (Phat Quoc Tu) File:Urgen Dorjee Choling Buddhist Centre, Lumbini, Nepal.jpg, Urgen Dorjee Choling Buddhist Centre File:The Golden Temple in Lumbini.jpg, Golden Temple of Myanmar

Other developments

Nepal's central bank has introduced a 100-rupee Nepali note featuring Lumbini, the birthplace of

. The

Nepal Rastra Bank The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्र बैंक) was established April 26, 1956 A.D. ( Nepali Date: Baisakh 14, 2013 B.S.) under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 1955, to discharge the central banking responsibili ...

said the new note would be accessible only during the

Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...

, Nepal's major festival in the time of September/October. It displays the portrait of Mayadevi, Gautam Buddha's mother in silver metallic on the front. The note also has a black dot which would help the blind recognise the note. The name of the central bank in Latin script would be printed on the note along with the date of printing in both the Christian Era and the Bikram Era. The new note is being issued following a cabinet decision 27 August. Nipponzan Myohoji decided to build a Peace Pagoda in the park in 2001, which is visited by many different cultures and religions every day. Because some

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

regard the Buddha as an incarnation of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, thousands of Hindus have begun to come here on pilgrimage during the full moon of the Nepali month of Baisakh (April–May) to worship Queen Mayadevi as Rupa Devi, the mother goddess of Lumbini. Lumbini was granted

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

status by

in 1997. A non-governmental organisation named Samriddhi Foundation started working in 2013 in the fields of education and health, particularly in government schools in the area where underprivileged children study. A non-governmental organisation called " Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation" (APECF) backed by chairman of the

Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), abbreviated UCPN (Maoist), (Nepali: एकीकृत नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (माओवादी)), was a political party in Nepal. It was founded ...

and then Prime Minister

Prachanda Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pr ...

, the

Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...

and a UN group called "United Nations Industrial Development Organization" (UNIDO) signed a deal to develop Lumbini into a "special development zone" with funds worth $3 billion. The venture was a China-UN joint project. A broader 'Lumbini Development National Director Committee' under the leadership of

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...

was formed on 17 October 2011. The six-member committee included

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) The Communist Party of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana ...

leader Mangal Siddhi Manandhar,

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party o ...

leader

Minendra Rijal Minendra Rijal ( ne, मिनेन्द्र रिजाल) is a Nepali politician and former Defence Minister of Nepal. He is also member of the House of Representatives. Political career He is a former member of Nepali Congress part ...

, Forest Minister Mohammad Wakil Musalman, among other leaders. The committee was given the authority to "draft a master plan to develop Lumbini as a peaceful and tourism area and table the proposal" and the responsibility to gather international support for the same.

Tourism

In 2019, Lumbini received 1.5 million visitors across the world.

Transport

Lumbini is a 10-hour drive from

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

and a 30-minute drive from

Bhairahawa Siddharthanagar ( ne, सिद्धार्थनगर), formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa ( ne, भैरहवा), is a municipality and the administrative headquarter of Rupandehi District in Lumbini Province of Nepal, ...

. The closest airport is

Gautam Buddha Airport Gautam Buddha International Airport , also known as Bhairahawa Airport, is an international airport located in Siddharthanagar (formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa) serving Lumbini in Lumbini Province, as well as the Butwal﹣Siddh ...

at Bhairahawa, with flights to and from Kathmandu. The India border town of

Sonauli Sonauli is a town, near city of Maharajganj in Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It located on the Indo-Nepal Border and is a well-known and most famous transit point between India and Nepal. Sonauli is around 75 km from district ...

Maharajganj district Maharajganj district is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, and the town of Maharajganj is the district headquarters. District is a part Gorakhpur division. It is located in Terai regions of Himalayas, bordering Ne ...

is 1 hour drive from Lumbini and

Nautanwa railway station Nautanwa railway station is a small railway station in Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh. Its code is NTV. It serves Nautanwa city. The station consists of two platforms. The platforms are not well sheltered. It lacks many facilities including ...

in India is just a few kilometres away. The nearest big city is

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...

, which is about 100 km and is 4 hours drive from Lumbini.

Places to visit

* Maya Devi Temple * World Peace Pagoda * Myanmar Golden Temple *

Lumbini Crane Sanctuary The ancient Lumbini Garden that spreads over the 6 km2 area has been developed into a sanctuary for Crane (bird), cranes in Nepal. The ruins of the palace of Tilaurakot (ancient capital of the Sakya (tribe), Sakya kingdom of Kapilavastu (an ...

New hotel construction

The nearest airport to Lumbini, Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa, is currently undergoing expansion. This small domestic airport is soon expected to become an international airport, with latest deadline set for 2019. The airport expansion attracted investors and hoteliers, and a series of new hotels are being constructed in and around Lumbini, hoping to cash in on the expected international tourist boom once the airport expansion work is completed.

Sister cities

Bodh Gaya,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Cáceres,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Lumbini On Trial: The Untold Story
*
Lumbini at the Open Directory Project

Lumbini at WorldHeritageSite.org Listing
{{World Heritage Sites in Nepal , state=expanded Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal Populated places in Rupandehi District World Heritage Sites in Nepal Rupandehi District Buddhist archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Nepal Cultural heritage of Nepal