Lumbini
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How it came to be
Lumbini lies in the Terai plain of southern Nepal, where Buddhist tradition holds that Queen Maya gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In the 3rd century BC the Mauryan emperor Ashoka came to worship and set up a stone pillar, which UNESCO dates to 249 BC. Its Brahmi inscription says that because the Buddha was born here, the village of Lumbini was relieved of taxes and paid only an eighth share of its produce.
The sacred garden holds monastery ruins from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD, stupas from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD, and brick structures beneath the Mayadevi Temple going back to the 3rd century BC. Until the pillar was rediscovered, the site was not known by the name Lumbini.
In 1896 the Nepalese general Khadga Shamsher Rana and Alois Anton Führer identified the inscription on the pillar, confirming the site as the birthplace. Kenzo Tange drew up a master plan for the area between 1972 and 1978, and Buddhist organisations from many countries have built temples in its monastic zone. UNESCO listed Lumbini in 1997.
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