Lumbini and Related Topics

Gautama Buddha

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Ascetic and spiritual teacher of South Asia who lived during the latter half of the first millennium BCE.

Seated Buddha from Tapa Shotor monastery in Hadda, Afghanistan, 2nd century CE

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (c. 500 BCE)

Inscription "The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni" (Brahmi script: 𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁄 𑀲𑀓𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀺𑀦𑁄 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑁄, Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho) on a relief showing the "empty" Illumination Throne of the Buddha in the early Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. Bharhut, c. 100 BCE.

One of the earliest anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, here surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right). Bimaran Casket, mid-1st century CE, British Museum.

Māyā miraculously giving birth to Siddhārtha. Sanskrit, palm-leaf manuscript. Nālandā, Bihar, India. Pāla period

The legendary Jataka collections depict the Buddha-to-be in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara, making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood.

Map showing Lumbini and other major Buddhist sites in India. Lumbini (present-day Nepal), is the birthplace of the Buddha, and is a holy place also for many non-Buddhists.

The Lumbini pillar contains an inscription stating that this is the Buddha's birthplace

The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a halo, he is accompanied by numerous guards and devata who have come to pay homage; Gandhara, Kushan period

Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes a sramana. Borobudur, 8th century

The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in Wat Suthat in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism

The Mahabodhi Tree at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya

The Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha at Bodh Gaya, as recreated by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.

Miracle of the Buddha walking on the River Nairañjanā. The Buddha is not visible (aniconism), only represented by a path on the water, and his empty throne bottom right. Sanchi.

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples

The chief disciples of the Buddha, Mogallana (chief in psychic power) and Sariputta (chief in wisdom).

The remains of a section of Jetavana Monastery, just outside of ancient Savatthi, in Uttar Pradesh.

Mahāprajāpatī, the first bhikkuni and Buddha's stepmother, ordains

This East Javanese relief depicts the Buddha in his final days, and Ānanda, his chief attendant.

Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century CE, gray schist

Mahaparinibbana scene, from the Ajanta caves

Buddha's cremation stupa, Kushinagar (Kushinara).

Piprahwa vase with relics of the Buddha. The inscription reads: ...salilanidhane Budhasa Bhagavate... (Brahmi script: ...𑀲𑀮𑀺𑀮𑀦𑀺𑀥𑀸𑀦𑁂 𑀩𑀼𑀥𑀲 𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁂...) "Relics of the Buddha Lord".

The Bodhisattva meets with Alara Kalama, Borobudur relief.

Gandharan Buddhist birchbark scroll fragments

Buddha meets a Brahmin, at the Indian Museum, Kolkata

Schist Buddha statue with the famed Ye Dharma Hetu dhāraṇī around the head, which was used as a common summary of Dependent Origination. It states: "Of those experiences that arise from a cause, The Tathāgata has said: 'this is their cause, And this is their cessation': This is what the Great Śramaṇa teaches."

Gandharan sculpture depicting the Buddha in the full lotus seated meditation posture, 2nd-3rd century CE

Buddha Statues from Gal Vihara. The Early Buddhist texts also mention meditation practice while standing and lying down.

The Buddha on a coin of Kushan ruler Kanishka I, c. 130 CE.

Buddhist monks from Nepal. According to the earliest sources, the Buddha looked like a typical shaved man from northeast India.

A Royal Couple Visits the Buddha, from railing of the Bharhut Stupa, Shunga dynasty, early 2nd century BC.

Adoration of the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi Tree, Bharhut.

Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, Sanchi Stupa No. 1.

The Buddha's Miracle at Kapilavastu, Sanchi Stupa 1.

Bimbisara visiting the Buddha (represented as empty throne) at the Bamboo garden in Rajagriha

The great departure with riderless horse, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.

The Assault of Mara, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.

Isapur Buddha, one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha, c. 15 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE – 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=199–206, 204 for the exact date |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA204}}</ref> Art of Mathura

The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.

Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, Satavahana period, 2d century CE. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

Gandharan Buddha with Vajrapani-Herakles.

Birth of the Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE.

The Infant Buddha Taking A Bath, Gandhara 2nd century CE.

Sarnath standing Buddha, 5th century CE.

Chinese Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, Wei period, 536 CE.

The Shakyamuni Daibutsu Bronze, c. 609, Nara, Japan.

Amaravati style Buddha of Srivijaya period, Palembang, Indonesia, 7th century.

Korean Seokguram Cave Buddha, c. 774 CE.

Seated Buddha Vairocana flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani of Mendut temple, Central Java, Indonesia, early 9th century.

Buddha in the exposed stupa of Borobudur mandala, Central Java, Indonesia, c. 825.

Vairocana Buddha of Srivijaya style, Southern Thailand, 9th century.

Seated Buddha, Japan, Heian period, 9th－10th century.

Cambodian Buddha with Mucalinda Nāga, c. 1100 CE, Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia

Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, c. from 1368 until 1644.

Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes, Tibetan, 19th century

Gautama statue, Shanyuan Temple, Liaoning Province, China.

Burmese style Buddha, Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon.

Large Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla.

According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha was born in Lumbini in what is now Nepal, to highborn parents of the Shakya clan, but abandoned his family to live as a wandering ascetic.

Nepal

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Landlocked country in South Asia.

Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth, lies on the Nepal–China border.

This land cover map of Nepal using Landsat 30 m (2010) data shows forest cover as the dominant type of land cover in Nepal.

The greater one-horned rhinoceros roams the sub-tropical grasslands of the Terai plains.

The Himalayan monal (Danphe), the national bird of Nepal, nests high in the Himalayas.

B.P. Koirala led the 1951 revolution, became the first democratically elected Prime Minister, and after being deposed and imprisoned in 1961, spent the rest of his life fighting for democracy.

Nepal has made progress with regard to minority rights in recent years.

Traffic Police personnel manually direct traffic at the busiest roads and junctions.

Nepal is one of the major contributors to UN peacekeeping missions.

The multipurpose Kukri knife (top) is the signature weapon of the Nepali armed forces, and is used by the Gurkhas, Nepal Army, Police and even security guards.

A proportional representation of Nepal exports, 2019

Real GPD per capita development of Nepal

Tourists view a greater one-horned rhinoceros from an elephant in Chitwan National Park.

While adults are employed in slavery-like conditions abroad, hundreds of thousands of children in the country are employed as child labour (not including the agricultural sector).

Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Dam. Nepal has significant potential to generate hydropower, which it plans to export across South Asia.

Historical development of life expectancy in Nepal

Bhanubhakta Acharya, Nepali writer who translated the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana in the Nepali language

A Nepali man in Daura-Suruwal, coat and Dhaka topi, displays the bhoto during the Bhoto Jatra festival.

A dal-bhat thali with boiled rice, lentil soup, fried leafy greens, vegetable curry, yoghurt, papad and vegetable salad

Nepali children playing a variant of knucklebones, with pebbles

Nepali cricket fans are renowned for an exceptionally enthusiastic support of their national team.

"Nēpāla" in the late Brahmi script, in the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta (350-375 CE).

In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal.

Rupandehi District

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One of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of 1,360 km2.

Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha, lies in Rupandehi district.

Lumbini Province

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Province in western Nepal.

Gautama Buddha's s birth in Lumbini (His mother Maya Dev i depicted holding a branch of sal tree)

Dang valley is one of the largest Inner Terai valleys of Nepal

Butwal is considered the financial capital of Lumbini.

French Buddhist monastery in Lumbini complex

Jaljala view point overlooking mountains

Dhaulagiri mountain range in Eastern Rukum

Universal College of Medical Sciences, Siddharthanagar

Rapti bridge, Nepal's second longest bridge over West Rapti river in Dang district

Nepal Airlines at Gautam Buddha International Airport

Ruins of ancient Kapilavastu at Tilaurakot

Nepalgunj Airport is Nepal's second-most busiest airport after TIA

The province is home to the World Heritage Site of Lumbini, where according to the Buddhist tradition, the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was born.

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (circa 500 BCE) – modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

Buddhism

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Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha.

The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in an Ubosoth in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism

Enlightenment of Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE, Gandhara.

The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India.

Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Thangka depicting the Wheel of Life with its six realms

Ramabhar Stupa in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India is regionally believed to be Buddha's cremation site.

An aniconic depiction of the Buddha's spiritual liberation (moksha) or awakening (bodhi), at Sanchi. The Buddha is not depicted, only symbolized by the Bodhi tree and the empty seat.

Dharma Wheel and triratna symbols from Sanchi Stupa number 2.

Buddhist monks and nuns praying in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple of Singapore

A depiction of Siddhartha Gautama in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara. After making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood, he becomes a "bodhisattva".

Bodhisattva Maitreya, Gandhara (3rd century), Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sermon in the Deer Park depicted at Wat Chedi Liam, near Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

Buddhist monks collect alms in Si Phan Don, Laos. Giving is a key virtue in Buddhism.

An ordination ceremony at Wat Yannawa in Bangkok. The Vinaya codes regulate the various sangha acts, including ordination.

Living at the root of a tree (trukkhamulik'anga) is one of the dhutaṅgas, a series of optional ascetic practices for Buddhist monastics.

Kōdō Sawaki practicing Zazen ("sitting dhyana")

Seated Buddha, Gal Viharaya, Polonnawura, Sri Lanka.

Kamakura Daibutsu, Kōtoku-in, Kamakura, Japan.

Statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, Thailand

An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts the generation of the Vairocana Mandala

A section of the Northern wall mural at the Lukhang Temple depicting tummo, the three channels (nadis) and phowa

Tibetan Buddhist prostration practice at Jokhang, Tibet.

Vegetarian meal at Buddhist temple. East Asian Buddhism tends to promote vegetarianism.

A depiction of the supposed First Buddhist council at Rajgir. Communal recitation was one of the original ways of transmitting and preserving Early Buddhist texts.

Gandhara birchbark scroll fragments (c. 1st century) from British Library Collection

The Tripiṭaka Koreana in South Korea, an edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon carved and preserved in over 81,000 wood printing blocks

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.

Mahākāśyapa meets an Ājīvika ascetic, one of the common Śramaṇa groups in ancient India

Ajanta Caves, Cave 10, a first period type chaitya worship hall with stupa but no idols.

Sanchi Stupa No. 3, near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of Ashoka according to the Edicts of Ashoka.

Extent of Buddhism and trade routes in the 1st century CE.

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a monk. Second–third century. Guimet Museum

Site of Nalanda University, a great center of Mahāyāna thought

Vajrayana adopted deities such as Bhairava, known as Yamantaka in Tibetan Buddhism.

Angkor Thom build by Khmer King Jayavarman VII (c. 1120–1218).

Distribution of major Buddhist traditions

Buddhists of various traditions, Yeunten Ling Tibetan Institute

Monastics and white clad laypersons celebrate Vesak, Vipassakna Dhaurak, Cambodia

Chinese Buddhist monks performing a formal ceremony in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Tibetan Buddhists practicing Chöd with various ritual implements, such as the Damaru drum, hand-bell, and Kangling (thighbone trumpet).

Ruins of a temple at the Erdene Zuu Monastery complex in Mongolia.

1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago

Interior of the Thai Buddhist wat in Nukari, Nurmijärvi, Finland

Percentage of Buddhists by country, according to the Pew Research Center, as of 2010

A painting by G. B. Hooijer (c. 1916–1919) reconstructing a scene of Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Frontispiece of the Chinese Diamond Sūtra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world

The Dharmachakra, a sacred symbol which represents Buddhism and its traditions.

An image of a lantern used in the Vesak Festival, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana of Gautama Buddha.

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini, present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu, a town in the Ganges Plain, near the modern Nepal–India border, and that he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Statue of Māyā, from Nepal, 19th century. Musée Guimet, Paris

Maya (mother of the Buddha)

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The birth of Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd–3rd century CE.

Queen Māyā's white elephant dream, and the conception of the Buddha. Gandhara, 2nd–3rd century CE.

Buddha's birth (Bharhut) Brahmi. Text: bhagavato rukdanta

Maya's dream of an elephant when conceiving the Buddha, in Kapilavastu. Sanchi.

Although sometimes shown in other scenes from her life, such as having a dream foretelling her pregnancy with Gautama Buddha or with her husband King Śuddhodana seeking prophecies about their son's life, shortly after his birth, she is most often depicted whilst giving birth to Gautama, an event that is generally accepted to have taken place in Lumbini in modern-day Terai.

Nigali Sagar

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Archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka.

"Budha-sa Konākamana-sa" (𑀩𑀼𑀥𑀲 𑀓𑁄𑀦𑀸𑀓𑀫𑀦𑀲, "Of the Kanakamuni Buddha") inscription in the Brahmi Script, at Nigali Sagar, 250 BCE

Fragments of Gotihawa and Nigali Sagar, possibly belonging to the same pillar.

Birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal

Statue commemorating the birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal

13th century inscription by King Ripu Malla

The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers northwest of Lumbini and 7 kilometers northeast of Taulihawa.

Ashoka

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Indian emperor of the Maurya Empire, son of Bindusara, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE.

Ashoka's Major Rock Edict at Junagadh contains inscriptions by Ashoka (fourteen of the Edicts of Ashoka), Rudradaman I and Skandagupta.

King Ashoka visits Ramagrama, to take relics of the Buddha from the Nagas, but in vain. Southern gateway, Stupa 1, Sanchi.

The Major Rock Edict No.13 of Ashoka, mentions the Greek kings Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander by name, as recipients of his teachings.

The Aramaic Inscription of Taxila probably mentions Ashoka.

The Saru Maru commemorative inscription seems to mention the presence of Ashoka in the area of Ujjain as he was still a Prince.

Kanaganahalli inscribed panel portraying Asoka with Brahmi label "King Asoka", 1st–3rd century CE.

Stupa of Sanchi. The central stupa was built during the Mauryas, and enlarged during the Sungas, but the decorative gateway is dated to the later dynasty of the Satavahanas.

Illustration of the original Mahabodhi Temple temple built by Asoka at Bodh Gaya. At the center, the Vajrasana, or "Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha", with its supporting columns, being the object of adoration. A Pillar of Ashoka topped by an elephant appears in the right corner. Bharhut relief, 1st century BCE.

The rediscovered Vajrasana, or "Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha", at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. It was built by Ashoka to commemorate the enlightenment of the Buddha, about two hundred years before him.

Ashoka and Monk Moggaliputta-Tissa at the Third Buddhist Council. Nava Jetavana, Shravasti.

A king - most probably Ashoka - with his two queens and three attendants, in a relief at Sanchi. The king's identification with Ashoka is suggested by a similar relief at Kanaganahalli, which bears his name.

Ashoka with his queen, at Kanaganahalli near Sannati, 1st–3rd century CE. The relief bears the inscription "Rāya Asoko" (𑀭𑀸𑀬 𑀅𑀲𑁄𑀓𑁄, "King Ashoka") in Brahmi script. It depicts the king with his queen, two attendants bearing fly-whisks, and one attendant bearing an umbrella.

Emperor Ashoka and his Queen at the Deer Park. Sanchi relief.

The word Upāsaka (𑀉𑀧𑀸𑀲𑀓, "Buddhist lay follower", in the Brahmi script), used by Ashoka in his Minor Rock Edict No.1 to describe his affiliation to Buddhism (circa 258 BCE).

Territories "conquered by the Dhamma" according to Major Rock Edict No.13 of Ashoka (260–218 BCE).

Distribution of the Edicts of Ashoka, and location of the contemporary Greek city of Ai-Khanoum.

The Kandahar Edict of Ashoka, a bilingual inscription (in Greek and Aramaic) by King Ashoka, discovered at Kandahar (National Museum of Afghanistan).

The Minor Rock Edict of Maski mentions the author as "Devanampriya Asoka", definitively linking both names, and confirming Ashoka as the author of the famous Edicts.

A c. 1910 painting by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951) depicting Ashoka's queen standing in front of the railings of the Buddhist monument at Sanchi (Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh).

The Ashokan pillar at Lumbini, Nepal, Buddha's birthplace

The Diamond throne at the Mahabodhi Temple, attributed to Ashoka

Mauryan ringstone, with standing goddess. Northwest Pakistan. 3rd century BCE. British Museum

Rampurva bull capital, detail of the abacus, with two "flame palmettes" framing a lotus surrounded by small rosette flowers.

Caduceus symbol on a Maurya-era punch-marked coin

A punch-marked coin attributed to Ashoka<ref>{{cite book |last=Mitchiner |first=Michael |date=1978 |title=Oriental Coins & Their Values: The Ancient and Classical World 600 B.C. - A.D. 650 |publisher=Hawkins Publications |page=544 |isbn=978-0-9041731-6-1}}</ref>

A Maurya-era silver coin of 1 karshapana, possibly from Ashoka's period, workshop of Mathura. Obverse: Symbols including a sun and an animal Reverse: Symbol Dimensions: 13.92 x 11.75 mm Weight: 3.4 g.

Ashoka's Rummindei pillar inscription states that he visited Lumbini during his 21st regnal year.

Devdaha

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Devdaha (Deva Daha, देवदह) is a municipality in Rupandehi District of Nepal, the ancient capital of Koliya Kingdom, located 7 km east of Lumbini and east of Butwal and shares a border with Nawalparasi district on the east side.

Pillars of Ashoka

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The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c.

The "Lion Capital of Ashoka", from Sarnath.

Ashoka called his own pillars Silā Thabhe (𑀲𑀺𑀮𑀸𑀣𑀪𑁂, Stone Stambha, i.e. stone pillars). Lumbini inscription, Brahmi script.

Geographical spread of known pillar capitals.

Abacus of the Allahabad pillar of Ashoka, the only remaining portion of the capital of the Allahabad pillar.

The horse motif on the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka, is often described as an example of Hellenistic realism.

The elephant-crowned pillar of Ashoka at the Mahabodhi Temple, Gaya. Bharhut relief, 100 BCE.

Ashoka also called his pillars "Dhaṃma thaṃbhā" (𑀥𑀁𑀫𑀣𑀁𑀪𑀸, Dharma stambha), i.e. "pillars of the Dharma". 7th Major Pillar Edict. Brahmi script.

Fragment of the 6th Major Pillar Edict, from the Delhi-Meerut Pillar of Ashoka, British Museum.

Depiction of the four lions capital surmounted by a Wheel of Law at Sanchi, Satavahana period, South gateway of stupa 3.

Rediscovery of the Ashoka pillar in Sarnath, 1905.

Delhi-Meerut (originally from Meerut, broken in pieces during transportation).

Delhi-Topra (originally from Topra Kalan).

Lumbini (broken in half). Capped for protection in the 20th century.

Fragment of pillar with inscription, Amaravati.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sircar |first1=D. C. |title=Asokan studies |date=1979 |page=118 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.gov.ignca.67068/67068#page/n129/mode/2up}}</ref>

Gotihawa, possible base of the Nigali Sagar pillar

Bodh Gaya (originally near Sujata Stupa, brought from Gaya in 1956).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Geary |first1=David |title=The Rebirth of Bodh Gaya: Buddhism and the Making of a World Heritage Site |date=2017 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=9780295742380 |page=209 Note 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=meA5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 |language=en}}</ref>

Portion of an Ashokan pillar, found in Pataliputra.

Rampurva zebu bull original (now in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi).

Four lions, once possibly crowned by a wheel, from Sanchi.

Major Pillar Edicts I, II, III (Delhi-Topra)

Major Pillar Edicts VII, second part (Delhi-Topra)

Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath, with Wheel of the Moral Law (reconstitution). 3rd century BCE.

Nigali Sagar (or Nigliva, Nigalihawa), near Lumbini, Nepal. Pillar missing capital, one Ashoka edict. Erected in the 20th regnal year of Ashoka (c. 249 BCE).

A report on Lumbini

29 related topics with Alpha

Gautama Buddha

Nepal

Rupandehi District

Lumbini Province

Buddhism

Maya (mother of the Buddha)

Nigali Sagar

Ashoka

Devdaha

Pillars of Ashoka