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Lumbini
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| In
the plain south of the first foothill
of the Churia range, lies Lumbini,
birthplace of Gautama, the Buddha.
Lumbini is a sacred place for
Buddhists from all over the world,
standing on an equal footing with
holy places sacred to other world
religions. A veteran Asian traveller
and author of several books writes,
'As millions of Christians look
to Jerusalem for inspiration,
as millions of Muslims turn to
Mecca, so do three hundred million
Buddhists see in the sacred Kingdom
of Nepal, a pillar left by the
great Emperor Ashoka to mark the
site where Buddha was born.
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Tourist Places
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| Ashokan
Pillar |
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| The Ashokan Pillar-In 1895,
a German archaeologist, white
wandering about the foothills
of the Churia range, discovered
a massive stone pillar erected
by Emperor Ashoka in 250 B.C.
to pay homage to the birth place
of Buddha. |
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| It is said that
the great Indian Emperor Ashok
visited the site in the twentieth
year of is ascendancy to the throne
and as a homage to the birthplace,
erected the pillar. The inscriptions
in the pillar roughly translates
as: Kin Piyadesi beloved of th
Gods, having been anointed 20
yeas, came himself and worshipped
saying Here Buddha Shakyamuni
was born: And he caused to make
a stone (capital) representing
a horse; and he caused (this)
stone pillar to be erected. Because
the worshipful one was born in
the village of Lumbini has been
made free of taxes and recipient
of wealth" |
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| Maya
Devi Temple |
| the
temple of Maya Devi containing
a stone relief depicting the birth scene
of Lord Buddha. The bas-relief shows
Maya Devi supporting herself by holding
on to a branch of a sal tree, and the
newborn infant Buddha standing upright
on a lotus pedestal. Two celestial figures
are engaged in the act of pouring water
and lotuses from the heaven, indicated
in the sculpture by a delineation of
clouds. The Maya Devi shrine has been
worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists
since the beginning of the Christian
era and is believed to have been built
over the foundation of at least one
earlier temple or stupa. |
| Puskarani |
| To
the South of the Maya Devi temple
is the famous sacred pool of 'Puskarani',
believed to be the same sacred
pool in which queen Maya Devi
bathed just before giving birth
to Buddha. It is also belived
to be the same sacred pool in
which queen Maya Devi bathed just
before giving birth to Buddha.
It is also believe to be the pool
where the infant Buddha was given
his first purification bath. The
structure consists of three projecting
terraces in descending order and
is riveted with fine brick masonry. |
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| Kapilvastu |
| Located some 27 km. west of Lumbini
lies the ruins of historic town of ‘Kapilvastu’.
Believed to be the capital of Shakya
republic where the Lord lived and enjoyed
his life until his thirteeth year, Kapilvastu
has been identified with. Tilaurakot
by the archaelolotists. Also, the place
is believed to have been associated
with different important episodes: there
are ruins and mounds of old stupas and
monasteries made of kiln-burnt bricks
and clay-mortar. The remains are surrounded
by a moat and the wall of the city are
made of bricks. In fact, the city of
Kapilvastu are in such a grand scale
that it could be easily be visualised
as a seat of high culture. |
| Aroarakot |
| About 10 km northwest of Taulihawa
there is a rectangular fortified area
which is popularly known as Arourakot.
The fortified area is identified by
the famous Indian archaeologist P.C.
Mukharji as the natal town of Kanakmuni
Buddha. Remains of ancient moat and
brick fortification around the Kot can
still be clearly located. A brick lined
well is seen to the south and elevated
mound towards the northwest corner. |
| Gotihawa |
| About 5 km. southwest of Taulihawa,
there is a village called Gotihawa.
In the village there is an Ashokan Pillar
standing in a slab. The upper portion
of the pillar is broken and lost and
only the lower portion of the pillar
3.5m. high is still intact. Adjoining
the pillar towards its northeast there
is a huge stupa with successive ring
of wedge shaped Mauryan bricks. |
| Kudan |
| About 2 km. southwest of Taulihawa,
on the left side of the Shoratgarh Taulihawa
road stands the village Kudan having
a huge structural ruin with a cluster
of four mounds and a tank. The mounds
were excavated in 1962. |
| Niglihawa |
| About 8 km, northwest of Taulihawa,
there is another site of archaelogical
importance. The site has quadrangular
tank surrounded by bushes, locally known
as Niglisagar. On the western Bank of
the tank there are two broken pieces
of the Ashokan pillar, the longer one
laying flat and the shorter ones stack
into the ground. The pillar bears 2
peacocks on the top part and a Devanagari
script inscription reading Om mani Padme
Hun Ripu mallasya Chiran Jayut 1234.’ |
| The shorter portion of the pillar
which is partly buried in the ground
measures 1.52m in length bears four
lines of Ashokan inscription in the
Brahmi script which roughly translates
as: "King Piyadasi Beloved of the gods,
after 14 years of his coronation enlarged
for the second time the stupa of Buddha
kanaka Muni, and after 20 years of his
coronat ion he came himself and worshipped
(and ) he caused (this) stone pillar
to be erected:" |
| Sagarhawa |
| About 12 km. north of Taulihawa,
there is a forest area called Sagarhawa.
In the midst of the forest there is
a huge rectangular tank which is popularly
known as Lumbusagar, or a long tank.
The ancient tanks ruins which were excavated
and indentified by Dr. Aslois A Fuhrer
as the ‘Palace of massacre of the Shakyas’
in 1895 can still be located on the
west south banks of the Sagar. |
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Suggested
Tours
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| Complete Nepal
Tour |
| Duration : 10 Nights -11 Days |
| Places Covered
:Nepal Kathmandu
- Bhaktapur - Bodhnath
- Pashupatinath - Kathmandu
Durbar Square - Swayambhunath
- Royal Chitwan National
Park - Lumbini |
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Lumbini
Travel Reservation Form
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