Lumbini Tour

Lord Buddha Birth Place Lumbini;

In The Buddha's time, Lumbini was situated in the east of Kapilavastu and southwest Devadaha of Shakya, an oligarchic republic. According to Buddhist tradition, it was there, that the Buddha was born. A pillar discovered at Rummindei in 1896 is believed to mark the spot of Ashoka's visit to Lumbini. The site was not known as Lumbini before the pillar was discovered. According to an inscription on the pillar, it was placed there by the people then in charge of the park to commemorate Ashoka visit and gifts. The park was previously known as Rummindei, 3.2 km north of Bhagavanpura.

The Sutta Nipata vs. 683 states that the Buddha was born in a village of the Sakyans in the Lumbineyya Janapada. The Buddha stayed in Lumbinivana during his visit to Devadaha and there preached the Devadaha Sutta.

Information Pillars of Ashoka

In 1896, General Khadga Samsher Rana and Alois Anton Führer discovered a great stone pillar at Rummindei, according to the crucial historical records made by the ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim Xuanzang in the 7th century CE and by another ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim Faxian in the early 5th century CE. The Brahmi inscription on the pillar gives evidence that Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya Empire, visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha. The inscription was translated by Paranavitana

When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. Both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse and caused a stone pillar to be set up, that the Blessed One was born here. Made the village of Lumbini free of taxes, and paying the eighth share.

-The Rummindei Edict, one of the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.

At the top of the pillar, there is a second inscription by king Ripumalla (13-14th century CE), who is also known from an inscription at the Nigali Sagar pillar:

'Om Mani Padme hum May Prince Ripu Malla belong victorious'

-Inscription of King Ripumalla on the Lumbini pillar of Ashoka, (13-14th centuries).

The second pillar of Ashoka is located about 22 kilometers to the northwest of Lumbini, the Nigali Sagar pillar (with inscription), and a third one 24 kilometers to the west, the Gotihawa pillar (without inscription).

Excavation at the Mayadevi Temple in 2013

According to Robin Coningham, 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, maybe 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.

Mayadevi Temple and ruins of ancient monasteries in Lumbini

Lumbini is 4.8 km in length and 1.6 km 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 monasteries, the western having Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. There is 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, and the Mayadevi Temple, where the supposed place of birth of Buddha is located. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries perform chanting and meditation at the site.

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 regard the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, 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.