Located at the Terai plains of southern Nepal, Lumbini is the sanctified place where Siddhartha Gautam, the Shakya Prince Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC. It is considered as one of the four sacred places of Buddhism and considered as Mecca of every Buddhist. Regardless of being a significant destination for the followers of Buddhism, Lumbini is nothing like Mecca or Banaras, pilgrims visit the place in a slow , reverent trickle and most of them stay on to meditate in the monasteries closing the consecrated site. Lumbini preserves its legendary allure and beauty from Buddha’s time and magnetize tourists all across the globe.

The Past

Maya Devi, the queen of Sakya family had an intuition that soon she would give birth to an extraordinary child, so left for her parent’s home. On her way, while she was taking rest in Lumbini grove, labor indications appeared and she gave birth to Prince Siddhartha. All celestial beings were overjoyed and great blessings saturated on every part of the world.

In 249 BC, the great emperor Ashoka made a pilgrimage and framed a pillar carrying inscriptions specifying that Lord Buddha was born at this place. The sanctified site is visited by many

Worth visiting places in Lumbini

The Maya Devi Temple - The Maya Devi place of pilgrimage complex is the heart of all monuments presented as this divine site. The shrine has a stone statuette of Maya Devi in labor pain. The temple is quite famous amongst women who face fertility related problems. The main compound has the huge stretches of Bo tree plantations. Another variety of tree is Banyan, under this tree Lord Buddha got enlightened. The temple also has a pool on south side and it is believed that Queen Maya Devi gave first purification to her son in this sacred pond. This pool has terraced steps and is wrapped up by beautifully layered bricks.

Ashoka Pillar - The Ashoka Pillar, standing nearby Maya Devi shrine was constructed by Emperor Ashoka. It is said that King Ashoka visited the place and framed the pillar as a mark of respect to the birth place of Lord Buddha. The inscriptions on the pillar say that Lord Buddha was born here.

Monasteries and Temples - Soon after the Mahaparinirvana of the Lord Buddha, Lumbini changed into a divine site. The Myanmar Temple is a luminous gold white structure elegantly soaring into the sky in the style of Shwe-dagon Pagoda in Yangon. Behind the temple, there is a monastery complex. Nearby that, the international Gautami Nuns Temple is a fine imitation of the Swayambhu stupa in Kathmandu. There is also a pool at this place which is known as Paleswan Pukhu.

The China temple is a complex of meditation cells, prayer rooms and pagodas. Framed by Buddhist Association of China, the attraction at Zhong Hua Buddhist Monastery is a large idol of Lord Buddha situated in its main pagoda. Apart from these, four different statues of Buddha are set up into the dome of stupa.

Museums - The Lumbini museums comprises of Kushana and Mauryan coins, metal sculptures, terra-cotta fragments, pious manuscripts and stone statues. The museum also possesses a broad collection of stamps from various nations illustrating Lord Buddha and Lumbini. Apilvastu Musuem is located 27 km west of Lumbini. The museum holds toys, coins and pottery dating between the 7th and 4th century A.D. It also possesses an extensive collection of ornaments and jewelry pieces of this time period.

Tilaurakot - Tilaurakot is a never-miss-out place for scholars and historians. Located approximately 27 km away from Lumbini and reminding the prehistoric palace of King Suddhodhan, is Tilaurakot is the place where Lord Buddha spent early years of his life. It is the place of incredible archeological importance. Tilaurakot has stupas, monasteries, ancient palaces and dotted with fountains.

Kapilvastu - The historic town of Kapilvastu was the capital of Shakya republic where Lord Buddha spent the early thirteen years of his life. The town has a magic, the mystical charm that can be felt through dedicated mind and devotion. The place has many stupas constructed by Gupta kings and Emperor Ashoka. The small city looks very immaculate and could pacify the mind of tourists with its mesmerizing effects.

Fast facts

• Best time to visit- October to May
• Area covered- 130 sq kms
• Climate- Summer 44°C to 28°C, winter 26 °C to 7 °C
• Languages spoken- Nepalese, Maithili and Awadhi
• Religions- Hinduism and Buddhism

How to reach

By Road - Lumbini has an extensive road network. One can take several modes of transportation from Gorakhpur (India) to reach Lumbini.

By Air - The popular Buddhist place does not have the facility of international airport, so travelers has to break their journey at Kathmandu and board another flight to reach this place.

 

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