Siddhartha Gautama or Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, Nepal. As a result, Lumbini has been a famous pilgrimage centre where people come to see the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
One of the renowned pilgrims to Lumbini was Emperor Asoka who erected a pillar there. Lumbini is currently being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre. Some of the notable features of this pilgrimage centre include the Maya Devi temple, Buddhist monasteries and stupas, and the Asoka pillar made of sandstone.
Inside the Maya Devi temple there are brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the third century BC. Emperor Asoka’s commemorative sandstone pillar contains Pali inscriptions in Brahmi script. The remains of the Buddhist monasteries called Viharas are from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. The stupas or Buddhist memorial shrines are from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD.
Lumbini has remained a notable Buddhist pilgrimage centre from early 1900s and it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Picture Credit : Google
