Information about Lumbini

Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha*

UNESCO World Heritage Site

State Party

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Type

Cultural

Criteria

iii, vi

Reference

666

Region

Asia-Pacific

Inscription History

Inscription

1997 (21st Session)

* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.

Lumbini(27° 28' 60N, 83° 16' 60E) (Sanskrit: लुम्बिनी, "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site located in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Zone of Nepal. It the place where Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who later became a Buddha (Gautama Buddha), and founded the religion of Buddhism. Gautama Buddha lived between approximately 563 BCE and 483 BCE. For Buddhists, this is one of the four main pilgrimage sites based around the life of Gautama Buddha, the other three being Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath.

Lumbini is located 25kms east of the municipality of Kapilavastu, the place where the Buddha grew up and lived up to the age of 29. Kapilvastu is the name of place as well as the neighbouring district. Lumbini has various Buddhist temples including the Mayadevi temple and many which are presently (2007) under construction. There is also the Puskarini pond and remains of Kapilvastu palace in Lumbini. There are other sites near Lumbini where, according to Buddhist tradition, previous Buddhas were born and achieved enlightenment and died.

Location of Lumbini, Nepal.

Lumbini in Buddha's time

The Four Main Sites
Pilgrimage to Buddha's Holy Sites

Lumbini Bodh Gaya Sarnath Kushinagar
Four Additional Sites
Sravasti Rajgir Sankissa Vaishali
Other Sites
Patna Gaya Kausambi Mathura Kapilavastu Devadaha Kesariya Pava Nalanda Varanasi Sanchi
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In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was a park situated between Kapilavatthu and Devadaha. It was there that the Buddha was born^[1]. A pillar now marks the spot of Asoka's visit to Lumbiní. According to an inscription on the pillar, it was placed there by the people then in charge of the park to commemorate Asoka's visit and gifts^[2]. The park was previously known as Rummindei, two miles north of Bhagavanpura.

In the Sutta Nipáta (vs. 683) it is stated that the Buddha was born in a village of the Sákyans, in the Lumbineyya Janapada. The Buddha stayed in Lumbinívana during his visit to Devadaha and there preached the Devadaha Sutta^[3].

Re-discovery of the site of Lumbini

In 1896, Nepalese archaeologists (effort by Khadga Samsher Rana ) discovered a great stone pillar at the site, attributed to Emperor Ashoka. Records made by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian were also used in the process of identifying this religiously acclaimed site.

Current Lumbini

Lumbini, as of 1997, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site specifically nominated for the international World heritage program.

The holy site of Lumbini is bordered by a large monastic zone, in which only monasteries can be built, no shops or hotels or restaurants. It is separated into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the Theravadin monasteries, the western having Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries.

The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Asokan pillar and the Mayadevi temple, where the precise place of birth of Buddha is located. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries perform chanting and meditation at the site.

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Gallery

Bodhi tree and pond at Lumbini	Exact birthplace of Gautama Buddha	Asokan Pillar	Lumbini Garden
Eternal Peace Flame	Burmese Lokamani Cula Pagoda	Chinese Maitreya Temple	Flags near the Sacred Pool (Puskarni)

References

1. ^ J.i.52, 54; Kvu.97, 559; AA.i.10; MA.ii.924; BuA.227; Cv.li.10, etc.
2. ^ See Mukerji: Asoka, p.27; see p.201f for details
3. ^ MA.ii.810

External links

Coordinates:

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
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State Party Natural WHS Cultural WHS Mixed WHS Total WHS Zone
Afghanistan 2 2 Asia-Pacific
Albania 2 2 Europe & North America
Algeria 6 1 7 Arab States
Andorra 1 1 Europe & North America
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This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, Australia and the Pacific (Australasia).

Afghanistan

Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamyan Valley
Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam

Armenia

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Sanskrit}}} | style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Writing system: | colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Devanāgarī and several other Brāhmī-based scripts ! colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;"|Official
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Buddha's
Holy Sites]]

The Four Main Sites
Lumbini  Bodh Gaya
Sarnath  Kushinagar
Four Additional Sites
Sravasti  Rajgir
Sankissa  Vaishali
Other Sites
Patna  Gaya
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Rupandehi district, a part of Lumbini zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Siddharthanagar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,360 km² and has a population (2001) of 708,419.
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Lumbini Zone is one of the 14 zones of Nepal and is home to Lumbini site, the birth place of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the historical Buddha and founder of the Buddhist philosophy.
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Motto
जननी जन्मभूमिष्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी (Sanskrit)
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Queen Māyā was the birth mother of the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha of the Gautama gotra, and sister of Mahapajapati Gotami the first woman ordained by the Buddha. "Māyā" means "illusion" or "enchantment" in Sanskrit and Pāli.
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Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent and the founder of Buddhism.^[1] He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age.
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buddha (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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Buddhism is often described as a religion^[1] and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha.
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Kushinagar or Kusinagar (26.45 N,83.24E)is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kushinagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha died.
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Coordinates:

Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya(24° 41' 60N, 84° 58' 60E) is a city in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place of Buddha's attainment of Enlightenment.
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Sarnath (also Mrigadava, Migadāya, Rishipattana, Isipatana) is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna.
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Kapilavastu is the name of an ancient Indian city (now in Nepal), and is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. The general view now is that Kapilavastu is a large area which is mainly in Nepal (but partly in India).
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buddha (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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Bodhi (बोधि) is the Pāli and Sanskrit word for the "awakened" or "knowing" consciousness of a fully liberated yogi, generally translated into English as "enlightenment".
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Srāvastī or Sāvatthī (Chinese: 舍衛), a city of ancient India, was one of the six largest cities in India during Gautama Buddha’s lifetime.
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Coordinates: Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Rajgir (ancient Rajagriha or Rājagṛha; Pali: Rājagaha) was the first capital of the kingdom of Magadha, a state that would
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Sankassa (also Sankasia, Sankissa and Sankassya) was a city in India at the time of Gautama Buddha, thirty leagues from Savatthi^[1]. Currently it has ruins of old monasteries and Buddhist monuments.
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