The Lord
Buddha was born in 623 BC in the sacred area of Lumbini located in the Terai
plains of southern Nepal, testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by
the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. Lumbini is one of the holiest places of
one of the world's great religions, and its remains contain important evidence
about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from as early as the 3rd
century BC.
The
complex of structures within the archaeological conservation area includes the
Shakya Tank; the remains within the Maya Devi Temple consisting of brick
structures in a cross-wall system dating from the 3rd century BC to the present
century and the sandstone Ashoka pillar with its Pali inscription in Brahmi
script. Additionally there are the excavated remains of Buddhist viharas
(monasteries) of the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD and the remains of
Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century
AD. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the
archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central
feature.
Criterion
(iii): As the
birthplace of the Lord Buddha, testified by the inscription on the Asoka
pillar, the sacred area in Lumbini is one of the most holy and significant
places for one of the world’s great religions.
Criterion
(vi): The
archaeological remains of the Buddhist viharas (monasteries) and stupas
(memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD, provide
important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from a very
early period.
Integrity
The
integrity of Lumbini has been achieved by means of preserving the
archaeological remains within the property boundary that give the property its
Outstanding Universal Value. The significant attributes and elements of the
property have been preserved. The buffer zone gives the property a further
layer of protection. Further excavations of potential archaeological sites and
appropriate protection of the archaeological remains are a high priority for
the integrity of the property. The property boundary however does not include
the entire archaeological site and various parts are found in the buffer zone.
The entire property including the buffer zone is owned by the Government of
Nepal and is being managed by the Lumbini Development Trust and therefore there
is little threat of development or neglect. However the effects of industrial
development in the region have been identified as a threat to the integrity of
the property.
Authenticity
The
authenticity of the archaeological remains within the boundaries has been
confirmed through a series of excavations since the discovery of the Asoka
pillar in 1896. The remains of viharas, stupas and numerous layers of brick
structures from the 3rd century BC to the present century at the site of the
Maya Devi Temple are proof of Lumbini having been a centre of pilgrimage from
early times. The archaeological remains require active conservation and
monitoring to ensure that the impact of natural degradation, influence of
humidity and the impact of the visitors are kept under control. The property
continues to express its Outstanding Universal Value through its archaeological
remains. The delicate balance must be maintained between conserving the
archaeological vestiges of the property while providing for the pilgrims.
Protection and management
requirements
The
property site is protected by the Ancient Monument Preservation Act 1956. The
site management is carried out by the Lumbini Development Trust, an autonomous
and non-profit making organization. The entire property is owned by the
Government of Nepal. The property falls within the centre of the Master Plan
area, the planning of which was initiated together with the United Nations and
carried out by Prof. Kenzo Tange between 1972 and 1978.
The
long-term challenges for the protection and management of the property are to
control the impact of visitors, and natural impacts including humidity and the
industrial development in the region. A Management Plan is in the process of
being developed to ensure the long-term safeguarding of the archaeological
vestiges of the property while allowing for the property to continue being
visited by pilgrims and tourists from around the world.
Long Description
As the
birthplace of the Lord Buddha - the apostle of peace and the light of Asia was
born in 623 BC - the sacred area of Lumbini is one of the holiest places of one
of the world's great religions, and its remains contain important evidence
about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from a very early period.
Lumbini, in the South-Western Terai of Nepal, evokes a kind of holy sentiment
to the millions of Buddhists all over the world, like Jerusalem to Christians
and Mecca to Muslims.
Lumbini
is the place where the Buddha, known as the Tathagata, was born. It is the
place which should be visited and seen by a person of devotion and which should
cause awareness and apprehension of the nature of impermanence. The site and
its surrounding area is endowed with a rich natural setting of domesticable
fauna and favourable agricultural environ. Historically, the region is an
exquisite treasure-trove of ancient ruins and antiquities, dating back to the
pre-Christian era. The site, described as a beautiful garden in the Buddha's
time, still retains its legendary charm and beauty.
The
birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lumbini, is one of the four holy places of
Buddhism. It is said in the Parinibbana
Sutta that
Buddha himself identified four places of future pilgrimage: the sites of his
birth, Enlightenment, First Discourse, and death. All these events happened
outside in nature under trees. There is no particular significance in this,
other than it perhaps explains why Buddhists have always respected the
environment and natural law.
Lumbini
is situated at the foothills of the Himalayas in modern Nepal. In the Buddha's
time, Lumbini was a beautiful garden full of green and shady sal trees (Shorea robusta ). The garden and its tranquil environs were
owned by both the Shakyas and the clans. King Suddhodana, father of Gautama
Buddha, was of the Shakya dynasty and belonged to the Kshatriya (warrior
caste). Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her way to her
parent's home in Devadaha while resting in Lumbini under a sal tree in the
month of May, 642 BC. The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali and Sanskrit
literature. Maya Devi, it is said, was spellbound to see the natural grandeur
of Lumbini. While she was standing, she felt labour pains and catching hold of
a drooping branch of a sal tree, she gave birth to a baby, the future Buddha.
In 249
BC, when the Indian Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini, it was a flourishing
village. Ashoka constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a
horse on top. The stone pillar bears an inscription, which in translation runs
as follows: 'King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20th 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 having
been born here, Lumbini village was taxed reduced and entitled to the eight
part (only)'.
Lumbini
remained neglected for centuries. In 1895, Feuhrer, a famous German
archaeologist, discovered the great pillar while wandering about the foothills
of the Churia range. Further exploration and excavation of the surrounding area
revealed the existence of a brick temple and sandstone sculpture within the
temple itself, which depicts the scenes of the Buddha's birth.
It is
pointed out by scholars that the temple of Maya Devi was constructed over the
foundations of more than one earlier temple or stupa, and that this temple was
probably built on an Ashokan stupa itself. To the south of the Maya Devi temple
there is the famous sacred bathing pool known as Puskarni. It is believed that
Maya Devi took a bath in this pool before the delivery. By the side of the
Ashoka pillar a river which flows south-east and is locally called the Ol. In
1996, an archaeological dig unearthed a 'flawless stone' placed there by Ashoka
in 249 BC to mark the precise location of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600
years ago. if authenticated, the find will put Lumbini even more prominently on
the map for millions of religious pilgrims.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
The
Shakya Prince Siddharta Gautama, better known as the Lord Buddha, was born to
Queen Mayadevi, wife of King Suddodhana, ruler of Kapilavastu, in 623 BC at the
famous gardens of Lumbini, while she was on a journey from her husband's
capital of Tilaurakot to her family home in Devadaha.
In 249 BC
the devout Buddhist Emperor Ashoka, third of the Mauryan rulers of India, made
a pilgrimage to this very sacred area in company with his teacher, Upagupta,
and erected pillars at Lumbini, Gotihawa, and Niglihawa, as he did in many
parts of India, to commemorate his visit. The inscription on the Lumbini pillar
identifies this as the birthplace of the Lord Buddha.
Lumbini
was a site of pilgrimage until the 15th century AD. Its early history is well
documented in the accounts of Chinese travellers, notably Fa Hsien (4th century
AD) and Hsuan Tsang (7th century AD), who described the temples, stupas, and
other establishments that they visited there. In the early 14th century King
Ripu Malla recorded his pilgrimage in the form of an additional inscription on
the Ashoka pillar.
The
reasons for its ceasing to attract Buddhist pilgrims after the 15th century
remain obscure. The only local cult centred on worship of a 3rd-4th century
image of Mayadevi as a Hindu mother goddess. The Buddhist temples fell into
disrepair and eventually into ruins, not to be rediscovered until they were
identified in 1896 by Dr A Fiihrer and Khadga Samsher, then Governor of Palpa,
who discovered the Ashoka pillar.
