UNESCO World Heritage: Lumbini
In the southern plans of the republic of Nepal, lies one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites to the followers of Buddhism. Commonly known as Lumbini is the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama who achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha and founded the religion of Buddhism.
The name Lumbini means “the lovely” in history lied southwest of the oligarchic republic of Koilya kingdom of the clan of Shakya. According to the findings of Tara Nanda Mishra published in the journal Ancient Nepal, “ Lumbini Devi also spelt as Rummindei or Rupandevi ( Beautiful Lady), was the queen of King Suddhodhana, who was the King of Devadaha, which was also the capital city and the administrative headquarter of the Koilya republican stat. On the request of his queen, King Anjana made a beautiful garden on the bank of Telar (oil) river. Thus the place had been named after his queen, Lumbini. According to the Jataka story, Lumbini during the time of Lord Buddha has been described as a big Sal garden which was jointly owned by Sakyas of Kapilvastu and the Koiyas of Atthakantha places it near Devadahha Nigrama. Buddha Charita of Asvaghosa describes Lumbini as “ Gay like the garden of Chaitra Ratha with trees of every kind.”
The site of current Lumbini in history had been lost to time, up until the discovery of the Ashoka Pillar. King Asoka of Magadha was a famous Emperor who had visited the site in 249 BC. He was accompanied by Upagupta who is believed to have been his teacher. The validation of the site to be the birthplace of Lord Buddha was provided by the inscription on the Asoka Pillar which reads, “ Here the Buddha Sakyamuni was born” and “Here Bhagwan was born at the Lumbini Village”. Further validation was provided by the accounts of the visits of Fa-Hian a Chinese traveller who had visited the village in 5th century AD. And Seng-Tsai a Yueh- Chih monk who visited the site in 3rd-4th century AD.
In modern history, the site of Lumbini was discovered in 1896 AD, in a joint expedition of Gen.Khadga Shumsher and Dr A. Fuhrer. The first excavation of the Mayadevi Temple was done in 1898 AD, by P.C Mukherjee along with the excavation of some stupas on the southern flank and a few temples in the south-west flank.
The site was inscribed to the UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in 1997 AD. After the visit of the Secretary-General of United Nations U Thant, in April of 1967 AD. He proposed the development of Lumbini into a major centre of pilgrimage. Which was followed by a UNDP consultant mission in December 1969, which led to a report that established the basis of planning around Lumbini. The Kenzo Tange Master Plan for Lumbini began in 1972 and was finalized and approved in 1978 AD.
The plan covers an area of 5x5 miles with a central square mile being the Sacred Garden within which is the UNESCO World Heritage Property. Of the Master Plan, the 1x3 miles area which includes three zones: New Lumbini Village, Cultural/Monastic Zone and the Sacred Garden- are part of the Lumbini Project Area.
Present-day Lumbini would not have been a reality if not for the efforts of various scholars, archaeologists who helped discover and preserve the originality of the location. The current site of Lumbini is bordered by a large monastic zone which is only home to monasteries. The zone is prohibited of construction of any shops, hotels or restaurants. The zone has been divided into eastern and western monastic zones, the eastern site features Theravadin monasteries whereas the western site features Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. The sites are separated by a long water-filled canal, with a series of brick arch bridges joining the two sides along the length. The holy site of Lumbini has well-preserved sites of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bath pond, the Ashokan pillar and the Mayadevi Temple which is believed to be the site of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama.
With the existing domestic airport being upgraded to an international airport, Lumbini is bound to receive a rush of new visitors made accessible by the upgrade. The site is a 10-hour drive from Kathmandu whereas a 30-minute drive from Bhairahawa. By air, the site is 35 minutes from Tribhuwan International Airport whereas from Pokhara 20 minutes.
With the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2020, all fingers are crossed for the operation of the new international airport which would allow more pilgrims and visitors to witness the history and majesty of the holy site.