Lumbini is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha located in Nepal. It is a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists that contains many temples and monuments honoring Buddha's life. Specifically, it contains the Maya Devi temple which marks where Buddha was born, as well as the sacred pool where his mother bathed and two dragons washed the newborn Buddha. The Ashoka pillar erected by the Indian emperor Ashoka also stands at Lumbini as evidence that Buddha was born in Nepal. Lumbini has become an important religious site and tourist attraction recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

1. http://asthanepal.com/lumbini/
LUMBINI: BIRTH PLACE OF GAUTAM
BUDDHA
INTRODUCTION
Lumbini is the biggest pilgrimage site for Buddhist people. We can find this place
in Rupandehi District in Nepal. It is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. Thus this
place carries great importance from a religious point of view.
According to mythology, people believe that Queen Maya Devi gave birth to
Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini in 563 B.C. People have developed the places
where Lord Gautama Buddha played and passed the time as temples and other
monuments. This place is like a magnet to the Buddhist follower.
There are a number of temples, monasteries, monuments, museums, and institutes
that people visit. These are the greatest source of attraction to national and
international devotees as well as tourists. Due to this, it has not only become
important from the religious aspect but also from the cultural, social, and economic
aspects as well.
Some of the Temples found in Lumbini are Mayadevi Temple, Puskarini, Holy
Pond, etc. Due to being unique in the world, UNESCO listed Lumbini in the World
Heritage Site in 1997.
HISTORY
We can hear the story of Lord Gautam from anyone in the Buddist community.
According to the story, people believe that Lord Gautam Buddha was an excellent
teacher, spiritual leader, and a great philosopher.

2. Gautam Buddha
People called him Budhha as it means someone who has gained enlightenment. It
means enlightened one. People do not exactly know the dates related to the origin,
birth, and death of Gautam Buddha. But they believe it all took place in the 4th to
6th century.
THE EARLY LIFE OF GAUTAM BUDDHA
According to the researchers, Lord Gautam born in Lumbini with King
Suddhodhana and Queen Mayadevi as his parents. Many people believe that when
Gautam born, he instantly walked seven steps. This is a widely spread mythology
of Lord Gautam Buddha displaying his potential even as a kid.
Later King Suddhodhana called many astrologists to know what Lord Gautam
Buddha be in the future. Everyone except one predicted that Lord Gautam Buddha
either would be a great emperor or he would be a great thinker. Only one of the
astrologists predicted with confidence that he would reach enlightenment that no
one had ever achieved.
Thinking his son would leave his kingdom, Lord Suddhodana kept his away from
the worldly matters. Later when Lord Gautam Buddha was on a stroll, he noticed a

3. person had died. Unknown to this phenomenon, he asked his butler what had
happened. The butler calmly explained everything related to it and even mentioned
that Lord Gautam would also have to die one day.
THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT
The event triggered a series of curiosity in the mind of Gautam Buddha. The
condition led him to search for the answers to the questions that had arisen in his
mind. Leaving his wife and son at night, Lord Gautam Buddha left his kingdom
and went to seclusion to meditation.
Lord Buddha
After a long journey and hard struggle, lord Gautam Buddha obtained
enlightenment at the age of 35. After enlightenment, he conveyed the four noble
truths that are the principle of Buddhism in today’s world.
According to the four noble truths of the world, they convey that (a) existence is
suffering, (b)human desire caused the suffering (c)if we achieve nirvana, we can
reduce suffering, (d) we can achieve nirvana through “eightfold path” of right
resolve, right views, right action, right speech, right livelihood, right mindfulness,
right concentration, right effort.

4. EVIDENCE OF LORD BUDDHA BORN IN NEPAL
Many people in the world still believe that Lord Gautam Buddha born in India.
However, there are lots of evidence of Gautam Buddha borning in
Nepal. Lumbini, situated in the east of Kapilavastu, is the place where Lord
Gautam Buddha born. If we visit Rupandehi, we can discover a pillar which marks
King Ashoka had visited this place.
People believe that they did not call the place as Lumbini before discovering the
pillar. We can also find an inscription that conveys to us that King Ashoka himself
came and worshipped to this place. It is because Lord Gautam born here.
If we dig up the story of the great King Ashoka, we can find that the ruler was in
the journey conquering all parts of India. According to history, he even prepared to
kill his own brothers to conquer India. Later in his life, he came to regret
everything he had done. So he decided to adopt the life of non-violence.
The pillar exactly sums up the story of why he came to Nepal. He, with the help of
stone bearing horse set up the pillar. He even exempted the people of Lumbini free
of taxes.
ATTRACTION
TEMPLES
Lumbini has been a great source of attraction for tourists as well as devotees for
several years. We can find a large number of attractions in this place. There are
large gardens with a wide density of pipal trees. It is quite shocking to know that
Hindu people widely surround this place. Nonetheless, we can find multiple
Buddhist temples and shrines scattered around this place.

5. Thai Monastery
Among the many temples in this heritage site, the most important one is the Maya
Devi temple. This temple encompasses many traditional sites related to Lord
Gautam Buddha’s Birth.
Though the temples are mainly old, new temples have also been constructed in the
course of time. These temples consist of simple white buildings. The government
has placed the exquisite and delicate sandstone sculptures in the National Museum
of Kathmandu. We can go there to check the sculptures.
As mentioned already, different other temples, monasteries, and monuments
surround the main temple of Maya Devi temple. We can find that the people
responsible for building the temple used brick as the main component.
SACRED POOL
We can also find a sacred pool on the south side of the main temple. People believe
that Queen Maya Devi bathed there before giving birth. People also believe that
after the birth of Gautam Buddha, two dragons washed the newborn Buddha.

6. ASHOKA PILLAR
Ashoka Pillar
Another great attraction is the Ashoka’s Pillar near the temple. People have built a
fence to protect the pillar. In order to make the sight of a pillar surrounded by flags
pleasing to the eyes, people have decorated the fence with prayer flags, banners,
and other objects.
ETERNAL PEACE FLAME
Similarly, the eternal peace flame is also another attraction of this site. We can see
that this flame never goes out. Some people believe that this flame shows the
spiritual power present on this site. Others believe it is due to the presence of
natural gas at the site.
CONCLUSION
Lumbini is a great source of tourism as it attracts tourists. Thus it has contributed
to the religious and economic aspects of our country. The religious sight has also
provided a world recognition as it is listed in the World Heritage site. Thus we
should keep the site clean and safe.

7. Any activity that can degrade this place should be avoided. Pollution and dense
population near the site can be a great problem for the image of this site.