Lumbini

Lumbini

Introduction

Lumbini, is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupendhi district of Nepal.It is the place where queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama. He belived roughly between 623 and 543 B.C. and founded Buddhism religion. Lumbini is one of the four magnets for all those pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. Lumbini has always been an center of attraction for every types of visitors. Being a birth place of Gautama Buddha founder of Buddhism it has always been a mind and soulful pleasing destination.

As the birthplace of the Lord buddha is the apostle of peace and the light of Asia . It is the  sacred area of Lumbini and also one of the holiest places of one of the world’s great religions. As it  remains contain important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from a very early period. Lumbini, in the South-Western Terai of Nepal, evokes a kind of holy sentiment to the millions of Buddhists all over the world, like Jerusalem to christians and Mecca to Muslims.

Background

Lumbini is situated at the foothills of the himalayas in modern Nepal. In the Buddha’s time, Lumbini was a beautiful garden full of green and shady sal trees ( Shorea robusta). The garden and its tranquil evirons were owened by both the Shakyas and the clans. King Suddhodhana, father of Gautama Buddha,was of the Shakya dynasty and belonged to the Kshatriya ( warrior caste). Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her way to her parent’s home in Devadaha while resting in Lumbini under a sal tree in the month of May, 642 BC.

The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali and Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi, it is said, was spelbound to see the natural grandeur of Lumbini. While she was standing, she felt labour pains and catching hold of a dropping branch of a sal tree, she gave birth to a baby, the future Buddha. In 249 BC, when the Indian Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini and he constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top devas with the message of the apostle of peace having been burn here.

Lumbini as a tourist destination and it’s importance

 Lumbini has the potentials of being a most important center of cultural tourism. Māyādevi temple, Aśoka pillar, Puskarini tank, various ancient Stūpas, vihar structures and finding relics have attracted many pilgrims and other visitors at this sacred complex. In ancient period king, nobles and other renowned persons had visited Lumbini in course of their pilgrimage. The tradition has been continuing in an unbroken chain. On special occasion a large number of devotees visit from the various parts of Nepāl and foreign countries. Lumbini represents not only monuments, but also the requisites, viz. unique life-style of the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim people, local art, craft and indigenous religious activities. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is a sacred complex not only Buddhist, but also for Hindu as well as other religious people due to the peace land. Siddharthanagar, the head quarter of Rupāndehi district, is the main entrance gateway of Lumbini.