Idea #769 – Visiting the Birthplace of Buddah in Lumbini, Nepal
Lumbini or Loumbin is a village in Nepal, in the Terai region, not far from the border with India. It is considered the traditional birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha in ancient India, his mother having given birth on the road to Kapilavastu, the capital of the family clan. It is therefore one of the four holy places of Buddhism.
In 1896, archaeologists led by Alexander Cunningham, guided by the travel diary of the Chinese pilgrim Faxian, discovered there a large stone pillar 6 meters high erected by Ashoka in -249 commemorating the birth of the Buddha. The pillar bears an inscription indicating that the emperor had come on an official visit in the twentieth year of his reign and had exempted the village from tax. However, no trace of the Kapilavastu site had then been found nearby. In 2013, the discovery and dating of an ancient structure located under the Maya Devi temple made it possible to propose a foundation of the site during the 6th century BC. The site has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Lumbini, Nepal
