Lumbini
is the place where the Buddha, known as the Tathagata (One
who has found the Truth. ) was born. It is
the place which should be visited and seen by a person of
devotion and which should cause awareness and apprehension
of the nature of impermanence.
For further information
regarding reservatin of hotels in Pokhara, Lumbini, Chitwan,
Kathmandu, Bhaktapur & Nagarkot and Trekking all over
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HOTELS IN LUMBINI
The birthplace of theGautama Buddha,
Lumbini, is the Mecca of every Buddhist, being one of the
four holy places of Buddhism. It is said in the Parinibbana
Sutta that Buddha himself identified four places of future
pilgrimage: the sites of his birth, enlightenment, first
discourse, and death. All of these events happened outside
in nature under trees. While there is not any particular
significance in this, other than it perhaps explains why
Buddhists have always respected the environment and natural
law.
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). The garden and its tranquil
environs were owned by both the Shakyas and Kolias clans.
King Suddhodana, father of Gautama Buddha was of the Shakya
dynasty belonging to the Kshatriya or the warrior caste.
Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her
way to her parent's home in Devadaha while taking rest
in Lumbini under a sal tree in the month of May in the
year 642 B.C. The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali
and Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi it is said was spellbound
to see the natural grandeur of Lumbini. While she was
standing, she felt labor pains and catching hold of a
drooping branch of a Sal tree, the baby, the future Buddha,
was born.
The bas relief above
depicts Maya Devi with her right hand holding on
to a branch of a sal tree with a newborn child standing
upright on a lotus petal, shedding an oval halo, around
his head, while two celestial figures pour water and lotuses
from vessels of heaven as indicated by the delineation of
clouds. This nativity scene was installed by Malla Kings
of the Naga dynasty from about the 11th to 15th Century
in the Karnali zone of Nepal.
In 249 BC, when the Emperor Ashoka
visited Lumbini it was a flourishing village. Ashoka constructed
four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse
on top. The stone pillar bears an inscription which, in
English translation, runs as follows: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka),
beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself
made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here,
a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected to
the Bhagavan having been born here, Lumbini village was
taxed reduced and entitled to the eight part (only)".
Transportation mode to Lumbini,
Siddharthanagar TOP
From India: From all major Indian cities to Gorakhpur (India)
by road or train, from Gorakhpur to Lumbini by road.
From Within Nepal: Kathmandu to Lumbini by airlines or
by road.
Visa: For entry from India by road, Tourist visa for Nepal
can be obtained at border customs.
Maya
Devi Temple:
Lumbini
remained neglected for centuries. In 1895, Feuhrer, a famous
German archaeologist, discovered the great pillar while
wandering about the foothills of the Churia range. Further
exploration and excavation of the surrounding area revealed
the existence of a brick temple and a sandstone sculpture
within the temple itself which depicts the scenes of the
Buddha's birth.
It is pointed out by scholars that
the temple of Maya Devi was constructed over the foundations
of more than one earlier temple or stupa, and that this
temple was probably built on an Ashokan stupa itself. On
the south of the Maya Devi temple there is the famous sacred
bathing pool known as Puskarni. It is believed that Maha
Devi took a bath in this pool before the delivery. By the
side of the Ashoka pillar there is a river which flows southeast
and is locally called the 'Ol' river. In
1996, an archaeological dig unearthed a "flawless stone"
placed there by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC to mark
the precise location of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600
years ago, if authenticated, the find will put Lumbini even
more prominently on the map for millions of religious pilgrims.
Recently, several beautiful shrines
have been built by devotees from Buddhist countries. A visit
to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, is not only for spiritual
enlightenment but also for solace and satisfaction that
one gets in such a calm and peaceful place.
Historical Perspective of the Development of Lumbini.
Lumbini Development Trust considers it moral obligation
to inform the people of the world about Lumbini, the Fountain
of World Peace and Holy Pilgrimage shrine of the Buddhists
and peace loving people of the world, its historical background,
development activities in the nineteen components, other
activities, contributions of the individuals, organisations
and nations, etc.
Pilgrimage Shrine TOP
Being the
birthplace of Lord Buddha, Lumbini, situated in Nepal tarai,
Nepal , is considered as the holy pilgrimage shrine since
ancient time. In the 20 th year of the coronation i,e. 249
B.C. Emperor Ashoka of India guided by his preceptor Upagupta
visited the spot and placed the Marker Stone ( Silabigadavicha
) to mark the exact spot of the birthplace of Lord Buddha.;
" hidabhudhajate " (here was Lord Buddha born)
and " hidabhagavanjateti " ( because Lord Bhagwan
- Lord Buddha was born here) mentioned in Lumbini Pillar
Inscription of Emperor Ashoka seem to have been said by
preceptor Upagupta to the emperor. Buddhist text Divyavadana
also refers to almost the same version i.e royal preceptor
pointing to the exact birthplace of Lord Buddha to Emperor
Asoka.
The joint venture of Lumbini Development Trust, Department
of Archaeology/ Nepal and Japan Buddhist Federation for
the restoration of Maya Devi Temple revealed the exact birthplace
of Lord Buddha with the Marker Stone and a monastery complex
nearby. The Mauryan emperor Asoka having erected the stambha
(pillar) and placing the Marker Stone, on the birth-spot
seems to have constructed a vihar in the complex. The excavations
carried out in this particular area have revealed the remains
of a Mauryan structure ( monastery) around the pillar. Thus
since the 3 rd century B.C. Lumbini was visited by many
kings, pilgrims, scholars to pay homage to Lord Buddha up
to 1312 A.D., when Ripu Malla, the famous king of Karnali
region in western Nepal paid a visit there. However, due
to unspecified reasons, the area remained ignored and undetected
after 1312 A.D. till the late 19 th century.
Due to the efforts of General Khadga Shamsher Rana, the
then Governor of Palpa, and Dr. A. Fuhrer, the Asokan Pillar
was discovered on Dec 1, 1896 A.D. Henceafter the Buddhists
and peace loving people of Nepal and the world began to
be attracted to the spot. The popularity of the site further
increased after 1930s and 1950s.
The idea of developing Lumbini in the right perspective,
which originated during the 4 th General Conference of the
World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) in Kathmandu , Nepal
in 1956 A.D, started taking shape with the visit of late
U Thant, Secretary General of the UNO to Lumbini in 1967.
Mr.U Thant expressed his strong desire to help develop Lumbini
as a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage centre for all the people
of the world. He had also a discussion with late King Mahendra
about the need for the development of Lumbini. As a result,
the UN made a decision to get the Master Plan prepared for
the development of Lumbini in the right perspective.
The International Committee consisting initially of 13
and later of 15 members was formed under the Chairmanship
of Nepal's Permanent Representative to the UN to help prepare
the Master Plan and to mobilise the resources.
In Nepal the late King Mahendra formed the Lumbini Development
Committee.
The Master Plan for Lumbini's Development. TOP
Initiated in 1970 the Master Plan was completed in 1978
by the renowned Japanese architect-planner Prof. Kenzo Tange.
The Finalisation and acceptance of the Master Plan by His
Majesy's Government / Nepal (HMG/N) and the UN created a
new wave of enthusiasm among the Buddhists and peace loving
people of the world for the fast development of the Lumbini
complex in the right perspective.
The International Committee for the Development of Lumbini,
New York, USA, and Lumbini Development Committee (LDC),
Nepal , became vigorously active in the mobilization of
resources and working for the achievement of the goal of
the Master Plan. Adequate land was acquired from the local
villagers. Soon afterwards, the afforestation program was
also launched according to the Master Plan. Further, the
holy site of Lumbini was made easily accessible to the visitors.
Below is a summary of the main achievements mentioned.
Land acquisition :
About 774 hectares i.e. 1150 bighas of land was acquired
for developing Lumbini. Seven villages and a bazar (local
market) were removed from the newly acquired area. All the
affected people were given liberal compensation. The affected
as well as other local people were/are given facilities
as well as job opportunities most generously by the Lumbini
Development Committee, (later Lumbini Development Trust).
Besides, many other facilities like drinking water, road
access, telephone, electricity, etc. are also provided to
the local people.
Afforestation:
When the development efforts began, Lumbini lacked proper
vegetation. The holy shrines were dotted in the middle of
farms and small settlements. Afforestation program was the
urgent need of the day to restore the history glory of the
site. In order to achieve the goal of making the complex
green with lush sal and other historic trees, around 6,20,000
saplings (of different varieties) were planted to restore
the natural beauty of Lumbini's tropical landscape. The
afforested area has attracted many birds (migratory also)
and animals. Thus the area has become an attractive area
with favorable environment.
The formation of the three zones
The Master Plan of Prof. Kenzo Tange has divided the entire
project area into three main construction-conservation zones
running from north to south, namely:
The New Lumbini Village
The Monastic Enclave, and
The Sacred Garden Complex
Below is a brief introduction to these zones.
The New Lumbini Village
This zone is called so because before the plan began there
were several villages spread in the 1x3 sq. mile area. The
villages were displaced and moved outside the project area
after the land was procured for construction. This is a
secular are where a visitor begins his pilgrimage residing
in lodges and hotels. This is thus the 'initial reception
point for visitors to Lumbini' (Gurung, 1998:26). There
are telephone, post- office, bank, police station, fire
station, restrooms, school, staff quarters and other related
offices.
Philosophically, from this zone a visitor to Lumbini is
supposed to orient him/herself toward religious sites and
environment they provide. There is a road in this zone going
east to west – from Siddharthanagar to Kapilvastu.
The Cultural center/Monastic zone
Museum TOP
This is the middle zone in the Master Plan. As the title
suggests, there are two parts in this zone – cultural
and monastic. The cultural zone has museum and library.
The museum houses artifacts collected from the sites nearby.
They are related to the life of Lord Buddha and the history
of Lumbini. The building has a good size seminar hall, large
ground floor for display of objects office, and lab.
LIRI
Just across the street from the museum is the cultural
center, popularly known as the LIRI or Lumbini International
Research Institution.
Construction of this huge and architecturally stylistic
complex was made possible with the financial support of
the Reiyukai, Japan . The ever growing library has a very
good collection of Buddhist texts, manuscripts, journals,
etc. The institute also publishes important manuscripts
on Buddhism. This is an attractive and useful facility for
serious researchers who cannot only use the library but
also the hospitality inside the complex with a moderate
payment.
The Monastic zone
There are two monastic zones in the middle section of the
Plan along the central link – one is allocated for
the Theravada and the other for the Mahayana sects of Buddhism.
The green zone and the central canal separate the two sections.
Lumbini Development Trust has made land plots of a definite
size for different Buddhist countries and organizations
for the construction of their monasteries – hence the
name. The concerned countries are encouraged to introduce
their vernacular architectural style or follow traditional
religious pattern while constructing their monasteries.
There will be facilities for pilgrims, meditation and meetings,
etc. in each monastery complex.
So far - plots have been allocated for monastic construction.
Of them - monasteries have either been completed or nearing
completion. They represent China, Vietnam, Mahabodhi Society,
India, Myanmar, Manang Society, Mustang, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Tara Foundation (Germany), Geden International (Austria),
Mongolia (proposed), Panditarama (Myanmar), Dhammawati guruma's
vihara, the Vipassana center.
The Sacred Garden Zone
Moving south from the middle or monastic zone, one crosses
the circular levee and enters the Sacred Garden , the focal
point and the heart of Lumbini. It was in this place where
Shakyamuni Gautam was born in 623 B.C. The main landmark
of this site is the Asokan Pillar with a five line inscription
which says that after 20 years of his coronation Emperor
Asoka had visited the place where Buddha was born. He had
caused erection of a stone pillar, had a stone railing made
and exempted the locals of the Lumbini Village from particular
type of taxes.
In February, 2004 Lumbini Development Trust organized a
national seminar on the interpretation of the pillar inscription.
This is one of the three pillars erected by Asoka, two others
being the Niglihawa and the Gottihawa pillars.
In the later centuries more monuments – temples, viharas
and stupas were added by the devotees. In the center of
all stood a shrine housing the nativity sculpture. But for
many centuries the entire site remained lost in the forest.
It was only in 1895 when the pillar was sighted. In the
month of December, 1896 the then governor of Palpa, Khadga
Shamsher and a surveyor named Fuhrer happened to discover
the Pillar. Later PC Mukherjee, and other scholars read
and translated the pillar inscription and did preliminary
survey of the archaeological sites nearby.
In the 1930s Gen. Kaisher Shamsher JBR cleaned the site
including the Maya Devi shrine complex. He reconstructed
a makeshift shrine to house the nativity sculpture exactly
on the spot where the old shrine stood. From 1960 Indian
(under the Colombo Plan) and Nepali archeologists carried
out excavation, conservation and preservation of the site.
In 1978 the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) was constituted.
TOP
For further information
regarding reservatin of hotels in Pokhara, Lumbini, Chitwan,
Kathmandu, Bhaktapur & Nagarkot and Trekking all over
NEPAL call or write us at our email address. puspa@mos.com.np
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