Lumbini is one of the four essential pilgrimage sites for Buddhists the world over (the others being Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath). Located in Kapilvastu District, Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It was the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautam (563 BCE) who went on to propagate a new way of life that ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Buddhist religion. In the process, Siddhartha Gautam became known as Gautam Buddha, and he is believed to have lived in Lumbini till the age of twenty-nine.The most famous temple here is the Mayadevi Temple in which there is a stone image of Queen Mayadevi holding on to a branch as she gives birth to Siddhartha Gautam. Puskarini Pond is nearby, this pond also a holy site, since it was where Buddha’s mother took the ritual dip before giving birth and in which Siddhartha Gautam was also given his first bath. A sacred Bodhi Tree (similar to the one under which Buddha later received enlightenment) and the Ashoka Pillar (erected in 249 BCE by Emperor Ashoka to mark the exact birthplace of Buddha) are also situated around the temple.
Lumbini encompasses a three-mile area and is divided into three zones, as per famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange’s master design of 1978. These zones are: the Sacred Garden Zone; the Monastic Zone, and the Educational and Culture Zone. The Monastic Zone is segregated into the East Zone where followers of Theravat Buddhism (India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, etc.) have built monasteries, and the West Zone, where countries like Japan, Bhutan, Vietnam, Kampuchea, etc. that follow the Mahayana branch, have built theirs. There are also some monasteries built by followers of Tibetan Buddhism, such as the Drigyul Kagyul Sect, in the West Zone.
