Lumbinī (pronounced [ˈlumbiniː], "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. According to sacred texts and Buddhist commentaries, Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini around 563 BCE. Siddhartha Gautama reached Enlightenment and became Shakyamuni Buddha (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि बुद्ध, "the Enlightened Sage of the Śākyas"), who founded Buddhism. He later passed into parinirvana at the age of eighty around 483 BCE. Lumbini is one of four most sacred pilgrimage sites important in the life of the Buddha.

Lumbini has many old temples, including the Mayadevi Temple, and several new temples built by Buddhist groups from different countries. Some of these temples are still being constructed. Monuments, monasteries, stupas, a museum, and the Lumbini International Research Institute are also near the holy site. There is a puskarini, or holy pond, where Maya Devi, the Buddha's mother, is believed to have performed a ritual cleansing before his birth, and where he was first bathed. At other nearby sites, earlier Buddhas were born, reached Enlightenment, and eventually passed away.

Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

In Buddha's time

During the time of the Buddha, Lumbini was located east of Kapilavastu and southwest of Devadaha in the Shakya region, which was a type of government ruled by a few people. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha was born in this area. The Ashoka Pillar of Lumbini, a single stone column with a Brahmi script inscription found in Rupandehi in 1896, is thought to mark the location where Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini. Before the pillar was discovered, the area was not known as Lumbini. The inscription, translated by Paranavitana, states:

The park was previously called Rupandehi, located 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of Bhagavanpura. The Sutta Nipáta (verse 683) mentions that the Buddha was born in a village of the Sákyans within the Lumbineyya Janapada. During his visit to Devadaha, the Buddha stayed in Lumbinívana and there taught the Devadaha Sutta.

Pillar of Ashoka

In 1896, former Nepalese Army General Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Alois Anton Führer found a large stone pillar in Rupandehi. They studied important records created by Chinese monks Faxian, who lived in the early 5th century CE, and Xuanzang, who lived in the 7th century CE. A Brahmi inscription on the pillar shows that Ashoka, the emperor of the Maurya Empire, visited Lumbini in the 3rd century BCE and recognized it as the birthplace of the Buddha.

At the top of the pillar, there is another inscription written by King Ripumalla in 1234 Saka Era (13th–14th century CE):

Another pillar of Ashoka is located about 22 kilometers to the northwest of Lumbini, called the Nigali Sagar pillar, which has an inscription. A third pillar is about 24 kilometers to the west, called the Gotihawa pillar, which does not have an inscription.

Lumbini complex

Lumbini is 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) long and 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide. This holy site is surrounded by a large area where only monasteries are allowed to be built. Shops, hotels, and restaurants are not permitted in this area. The complex is divided into two parts: the eastern monastic zone, which includes Theravadin monasteries, and the western monastic zone, which includes Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. A long canal filled with water separates the two zones, and brick arch bridges connect them along the canal’s length. Small motor boats are available at the north end of the canal to provide tours. Lumbini is home to ancient monastery ruins, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Ashokan pillar, and the Mayadevi Temple, which is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of the Buddha. From early morning until early evening, pilgrims from many countries visit the site to chant and meditate.

• Ancient ruins at Lumbini
• Bodhi tree
• Mayadevi Temple and ruins of ancient monasteries

The Lumbini complex is divided into three areas: the Sacred Garden, the Monastic Zone, and the Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village. The Sacred Garden is the central area of Lumbini and includes the birthplace of the Buddha and important monuments such as the Mayadevi Temple, the Ashoka Pillar, the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture, the Puskarini Sacred Pond, and ruins of ancient Buddhist stupas and viharas. The Monastic Zone, which covers one square mile, is split into two parts: the East Monastic Zone, which includes monasteries from the Theravada school of Buddhism, and the West Monastic Zone, which includes monasteries from the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools. These zones are separated by a long pedestrian walkway and canal. Many countries have built Buddhist stupas and monasteries in the Monastic Zone, each with unique designs that reflect their history, culture, and spiritual traditions. The Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village include the Lumbini Museum, the Lumbini International Research Institute, the World Peace Pagoda of Japan, the Lumbini Crane Sanctuary, and other administrative buildings. In 2021, the Government of Bangladesh signed an agreement to build a Buddhist monastery in Lumbini under the leadership of former premier Sheikh Hasina, with the goal of placing a "symbol of Bangladesh" at the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha. In 2023, the Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Aleksei Novikov, laid the foundation for a Russian Buddhist monastery in Lumbini to represent the Russian Federation.

• Nepalese Temple
• Indian Temple
• Japanese Stupa
• Royal Thailand Monastery
• Chinese Monastery
• German Monastery
• French Monastery
• Sri Lankan Temple
• South Korean Temple
• Cambodian Monastery
• Austrian Monastery
• Singapore Monastery
• Canadian Temple
• Vietnamese Temple
• Urgen Dorjee Choling Centre
• Golden Temple of Myanmar
• Russian Monastery (under construction, April 2024)

Religious significance

Before his death at the age of eighty, Gautama Buddha taught his followers about the importance of Lumbini as a place for religious visits, as recorded in the Dīgha Nikāya, 16; Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta.

Lumbini, where the Buddha was born, is one of four major pilgrimage sites in Buddhism. The other three are Bodh Gaya, where he achieved enlightenment; Sarnath, where he delivered his first teaching; and Kushinagar, where he passed away. These four locations form a special route that includes the most important holy places connected to the Buddha's life.

Excavation at the Mayadevi Temple in 2013

In 2013, new excavations at the Mayadevi temple in Lumbini uncovered some of the oldest Buddhist shrines in South Asia, showing that the site has a much longer history than previously known. Robin Coningham explains that digging beneath the brick structures at the Mayadevi Temple revealed an older wooden building that existed before the brick shrine built during the Ashokan era (3rd-century BCE). The design of the Ashokan shrine matches the earlier wooden structure, which indicates that religious practices at the site continued over time. The wooden structure from before the Mauryan period seems to have been a shrine built around an ancient tree. Using radiocarbon dating on charcoal from wooden postholes and a special dating method on soil elements, scientists found that people may have been active at Lumbini as early as 1000 BCE. Coningham says the site could be a Buddhist monument from the 6th-century BCE. However, other scholars argue that the findings do not prove the site was Buddhist and only show that it existed before the time of the Buddha.

Other developments

Nepal's central bank has created a new 100-rupee note that shows Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. The Nepal Rastra Bank announced that the note will only be available during Dashain, which is Nepal's most important festival in September or October. The front of the note has a silver image of Mayadevi, the mother of Gautam Buddha. It also includes a black dot to help blind people recognize the note. The central bank's name in Roman letters and the printing date in both the Gregorian calendar and the Bikram Era will be printed on the note. This new note was introduced after a decision made by the government on August 27.

In 2001, Nipponzan Myohoji decided to build a Peace Pagoda in a park. Many people from different cultures and religions visit the pagoda daily. Some Hindus believe Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu, so thousands of Hindus now visit Lumbini during the full moon of the Nepali month Baisakh (April–May) to worship Queen Mayadevi as Rupa Devi, the mother goddess of Lumbini. Lumbini was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

In 2011, the Lumbini Development National Director Committee was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Prachanda. The committee was assigned the task of creating a plan to develop Lumbini as a peaceful and tourist area and to present the plan. It was also responsible for seeking international support for this goal.

In 2022, on Buddha's Birthday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba together laid the foundation stone for an Indian monastery in Lumbini. Every year, Nepal-India cultural events are held in Lumbini to highlight the strong spiritual and cultural connection between the two countries. In October 2023, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, visited Lumbini and asked everyone to think about the main teachings of Buddhism and how they are important today. He also mentioned global conflicts in places like the Middle East, Ukraine, and Africa, as well as the weakening of global rules and their harmful effects on ordinary people, especially women and children.

Tourism

In 2019, Lumbini was visited by 1.5 million people from many countries.

Lumbini is located 10 hours by car from Kathmandu and 30 minutes by car from Bhairahawa. The nearest airport is Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa, which has flights to and from Kathmandu.

Key places to visit include:
• Maya Devi Temple
• World Peace Pagoda, Lumbini
• Ashoka Pillar of Lumbini
• Lumbini Crane Sanctuary

More visitors from other countries in the 2010s, along with the opening of Gautam Buddha International Airport, led to more money being spent on building hotels near Lumbini. In 2017, 80 new hotels were built in the area.

Sister cities

Lumbini has four official sister cities:

• Kushinagar, India (2022)
• Bodh Gaya, India
• Cáceres, Spain
• Kōya, Japan