Lumbini – The Birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Lord Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini (Nepal)
“Buddham Saranam Gacchami.” (बुद्धं शरणं गच्छामि।) I take refuge in the Buddha.
“Dhammam Saranam Gacchami.” (धर्मं शरणं गच्छामि।) I take refuge in the Dharma.
In Apr 2021, we travelled to Nepal. The first place which I wanted to see was Lumbini which is regarded as the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, for my inclination towards Spirituality.
The nearest place to Lumbini is Bhairahawa where all the tourists stay.
Bhairahawa is the main travel gateway to the Buddhist pilgrim’s circuit of Lumbini, Kapilvastu and Kathmandu. It has very good air connectivity with all the cities of Nepal. Also, Bhairahawa is very close to the Indian border, just three hrs drive from Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh). One can reach Bhairahawa after crossing the India Nepal border, known as Sunauli Border.
Maya Devi temple
The main temple Maya Devi is the sacred place where Lord Buddha was born. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple stands adjacent to a sacred pool ‘Pushkarni’ and a garden. No prayer as such is allowed inside the temple. One can see the archaeological remains at the site and also outside the temple.
Lord Buddha’s year of birth is marked as 623 BC, as testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. According to later biographies such as the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara, Lord Buddha’s mother, Maya Devi was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side and ten months later, Siddhartha was born. As per the tradition, Queen Maya left for her father’s kingdom for childbirth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a Sal Tree.
The place around is very calm and serene. One can feel quietness within. We saw many monks sitting there in mediation. We too did meditation and took the blessings of the Lord Buddha.
Other temples and Monastries
We then went around to see other places around the temple. Lumbini has a number of new temples, funded by Buddhist organisations from various countries. Many monuments, monasteries and a museum, and the Lumbini International Research Institute are also within the holy site. Thailand, Singapore, Japan, China and many more countries temples are worth seeing for their beautiful architecture.
One of the famous and beautiful monument is World Peace Pagoda (Biswa Shanti Stupa), also called Nipponzan Peace Pagoda.
Being the month of Apr, the heat was unbearable in the noon. It was difficult to walk around. I think the ideal time to see Lumbini would be early winter, but Lumbini being the most sacred place for Buddhists, round the year pilgrims visit Lumbini.
Rakhi Sunil Kumar
