History
Lumbini, where the Buddha was born
In the plains of southern Nepal, close to the Indian border, a garden marks the spot where, according to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama was born about two and a half thousand years ago. An inscribed pillar left by an emperor confirms it, and Buddhists from all over the world have built temples around it.
By Walter Pellow2 November 20264 min read
The Buddha was born, according to Buddhist tradition, in a garden called Lumbini, in the foothills of the Himalaya, while his mother, Queen Maya Devi, was on her way to her parents' home to give birth. He was Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Shakya clan, and he lived, as most scholars now think, in the fifth or sixth century BC. Lumbini lies today in the Terai, the flat, fertile lowland of southern Nepal, a few kilometres from the border with India.
It is one of the four holiest places in Buddhism, along with Bodh Gaya, where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath, where he first taught, and Kushinagar, where he died. Unlike some sacred sites, its identification rests on more than tradition.
The emperor's pillar
In the third century BC, the Indian emperor Ashoka, a convert to Buddhism who ruled most of the subcontinent, made a pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace and set up a stone pillar there, inscribed in the Brahmi script. The inscription records that the king came here himself, because the Buddha was born here, and that he reduced the village's taxes in honour of the fact.
The site was abandoned and forgotten in later centuries, and overgrown by jungle. In 1896, the pillar was rediscovered, and its inscription was read, confirming that this was the place that ancient pilgrims had known as Lumbini. It still stands in the sacred garden today.
Its identification rests on more than tradition.
The sacred garden
At the heart of Lumbini is the Maya Devi Temple, a plain modern building that protects the excavated remains of a series of older temples and shrines, built one on top of another. Inside, beneath a walkway, is a marker stone said to show the exact spot of the birth, and a worn stone relief showing Maya Devi holding the branch of a tree as she gives birth, with the newborn child standing beside her. Excavations have found the remains of brick structures from Ashoka's time and earlier.
Beside the temple is the Puskarini, the sacred pool where, according to tradition, Maya Devi bathed before giving birth and the baby was given his first bath. Around it, the ancient bodhi trees are hung with prayer flags, and monks and pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Japan and elsewhere sit and chant in the shade.
The monastic zone
Beyond the sacred garden, a long canal runs through the Lumbini Development Zone, laid out to a master plan by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange in the 1970s. On either side are monasteries and temples built by Buddhist countries and communities from around the world, each in its own national style: a gleaming golden Burmese pagoda, a Thai temple of white marble, a Chinese monastery, a Vietnamese pagoda, a German temple with painted walls. Walking or cycling between them is like a short tour of the Buddhist world.
Lumbini and its archaeological remains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a quiet, contemplative place, more a garden than a town, and the atmosphere in the early morning, when the chanting begins and the mist hangs over the plain, is unlike anywhere else on a journey through India and Nepal.
Some thirty kilometres to the west lies Tilaurakot, a ruined walled town in the fields, which many archaeologists identify with Kapilavastu, the capital of the Shakya clan, where Siddhartha is said to have grown up as a prince before he left his palace to search for an answer to suffering. Its brick foundations, gateways and ponds are quiet and little visited, and they complete the story that begins in the garden at Lumbini.
The tours
G Adventures' India & Nepal on a Budget: Varanasi to Kathmandu, eight nights, starts in Varanasi and crosses into Nepal for Lumbini, then continues to Chitwan National Park, Pokhara and Sarangkot, and finishes in Kathmandu. It runs from November to January.
G Adventures' Varanasi to Kathmandu: Temples, Trails & Himalayan Hikes, eight nights, takes in Varanasi, Sarnath and Barauli, Chitwan, Pokhara, Sarangkot and Kathmandu, with the Maya Devi Temple, and departs in October.
The best time to visit Lumbini is from October to March, when the weather on the plains is warm and dry. The Buddha's birthday, Buddha Jayanti, celebrated at the full moon of April or May, draws large crowds of pilgrims. By then, the Terai is getting very hot.
By Walter Pellow, the name Atlas & Passage’s editorial team writes under. Prices and dates in the trips below come from the operators and can change.
