LUMBINI

There are many places in Nepal which are related to the historical & religious importance.Lumbini is one of the such places.This places has a historical & religious importance because this place is the birth place of lord Gautam buddha.This place is located in the western Terai of Nepal.It lies in kapilvastu district.Lord buddha was born 2500 years ago in this place.He had gained knowledge & truth here.According to the hinduism,lord buddha was the ninth incarnation of lord Bishnu.Since then this place has been a memorable & holy place among millions people of Nepal & several countries in the world.Buddhism became one of the main religion in the world through lord buddha.It is the most peaceful religion because its creator was the messenger of peace.Many people have faith in Buddha and follow buddhism.This religion has spread all over the world.

Lumbini is important not only from religious point of view but also from historical point of view.Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to visit Lumbini every year.It has helped us to earn foreign currency from tourists .This help in our development of economy.Today the tourists attraction towards Lumbini is increasing day by day. According to Buddhist tradition, Maya Devi (or Mayadevi) gave birth to the Buddha on her way to her parent's home in Devadaha in the month of May in the year 642 BC. Feeling the onset of labor pains, she grabbed hold of the branches of a shade tree and gave birth to Siddharta Gautama, the future Buddha. The Buddha is said to have announced, "This is my final rebirth" as he entered the world.

In 249 BC the Buddhist convert Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini and constructed four stupas and a stone pillar. Ashoka's Pillar bears an inscription that translates as: "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 "blessed one" having been born here. Monasteries and temples were built at Lumbini until the 9th century, but Buddhism declined in the area after the arrival of Islam and later Hinduism. All that remained was a sculpture, revered by local women as a fertility symbol. The garden of the Buddha's birth was lost for a thousand years.The site was rediscovered in 1895, when a German archaeologist came upon Ashoka's Pillar, identified by its inscription. Records made by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian were also used in the process of identifying this religiously acclaimed site. Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.d years.

Lumbini lies in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. The site is a large garden with a grove of pipal trees. The area around Lumbini is entirely Hindu, but many Buddhist temples and shrines from various nations are scattered around the holy site itself.
The most important temple at Lumbini is the Maya Devi Temple, which enshrines the traditional site of the Buddha's birth. The current temple stands on the site of earlier temples and stupas, including the stupa built by Ashoka.