Lumbini is one of the holiest places of one of the world’s great religions, and its remains contain significant evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage from as early as the 3rd century BC.

The Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC in the sacred Terai plains of southern Nepal, testified to by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. The complex of structures within the archaeological conservation area includes the Shakya Tank; the remains within the Maya Devi Temple consisting of brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the 3rd century BC to the present century; and the sandstone Ashoka pillar with its Pali inscription in Brahmi script. Additionally, there are the excavated remains of Buddhist viharas (monasteries) from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD and the remains of Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature.

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