Pilgrimage
The Buddhist texts
Lalitavistar, Jatak Nidan katha, Divya vadana and Mahavamsa have
stated Lumbini as the birth place of Lord Buddha. When Buddha was
lying down on the death bed at the age of eighty in Kusinagar his
disciples, monks and nuns surrounded him. On this occasion, he
advised with feeling of holy reverence and awe, viz. the place where
the Tathagata was born (Lumbini grove), the place where he had
reached perfect enlightenment (Bodha-Gaya), the place where for the
first time he had proclaimed the law (Deer park near Varaņasi), and
the place of his final extinction (Kusinagar). Thus, Lumbini was
declared as the sacred spot to the pilgrims and was visited by the
scholars, nobles, Royalties and devotees from all over the world.
According to Kundala Vadana of Divyavadana having led King Asoka
into the Lumbini jungle, venerable Upagupta indicated with his right
hand and said "Asmin Maharaja pradase bhagavan jatah", meaning 'Oh
Great king! Here the Blessed one was born!" King Asoka made an offer
of one hundred thousand gold coins and established the first cetiya
or pagoda. In the next chapter Asoka vadana of Divyavadan we find
the description of the site. In the Asokan pillar of Lumbini it is
inscribed that "Here Bhagwan Sakyamuni was at the Lumbini village".
It is translated by Fuhrer as to mean King Piyadasi beloved of the
Gods (or dear to the Gods), having been anointed 20 years came
himself and worshipped saying: "Here Buddha Sakyamuni was born", and
he got a stone (capital) representing a horse, and the stone pillar
erected. Because here the worshipped one was born, the village of
Lumbini has been made free of taxes and a recipient of wealth.
According to Hultzsch it mean, ‘when king, beloved of gods, had been
anointed twenty years he came himself and worshipped (this spot).’
Here Buddha Sakyamuni was born. He got a stone bearing horse made at
this place. Hiuen-Tsiang's remark that the capital of the pillar
contained a horse figure confirms to this interpretation. "As quoted
by Rhys Davids , Buhler also says that "a stone horse was made and
put on a stone pillar”. King Aśoka installed the stone column with a
clear legend inscribed on it that it is the spot of Lumbini where
the Blessed one was born. In Lumbini a brick railing was erected at
a distance of 48.76 cm. from the base of the pillar and it had
dentils also. After the visit of Emperor, many monks and nuns had
started visiting the place. A large number of monasteries and vihars
must have been built for their stay in this sacred complex. A large
number of artifacts of the Mauryan, Sunga, Kushaņa and Gupta periods
were recovered in course of various excavations. It is thus clear
that it continued to be a place of pilgrimage since the third
century BC till today.
Chinese pilgrims have given a more accurate and authentic
description of Lumbini. Shui-Ching-Chu describes that at Lumbini the
Asokan tree which was gripped by Mayadevi at the time of
Siddhartha's birth was still in a living condition and an image of
Mayadevi was placed there where devotees used to offer puja
articles. The spot where Siddhartha's feet touched the earth first,
Aśoka got the Siddhartha's foot prints shielded with stones. His
description has been ratified by the noticeable findings discovered
during the joint excavation of the Department of Archaeology,
Lumbini Development Trust and Japanese Buddhist Federation from 1993
to 1997. It is clearly seen that Aśoka had shielded the
Siddhartha's
footprints with stones in order to secure it. This significant news
of the findings of the excavation was publicly declared by then
Honorable Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on February 4, 1996.
According to Fa-Hien in Lumbini the queen (Mayadevi) having entered
the pool to bathe, came out on the north side , and after walking
twenty paces, raised her hands and grasped the branch of a tree. She
brought forth the Heir Apparent facing to the east. On reaching the
ground, the Heir Apparent walked seven steps, and two dragon- kings
washed his body. At the time of washing the tank was used. In this
context Hiuen-Tsiang had stated that there was the bathing tank of
the Śakyas, the water of which was clear as a mirror and the surface
of which was covered with a mixture of flowers. 24 or 25 paces to
the north of this there was fallen Asokan flower tree on the birth
place of Bodhisattva. To the east from this place there was a Stupa
built by Aśoka-raja on the spot where the two dragons bathed the
body of the prince. Bodhisattva walked without assistance in the
direction of the four quarters, seven spaces in each direction, and
said, "I am the only Lord in heaven and earth; from this time forth
my births are finished". To the east of this stūpa were two
fountains of pure water, by the side of which two stūpas were built.
To the south of this was a stūpa, where Sakra, the Lord of Devas,
received Bodhisattva in his arms. Close to the site there were four
stūpas to denote the place where the four heavenly kings received
Bodhisattva in their arms. When Bodhisattva was born they wrapped
him in a golden coloured cotton vestment, and brought him to his
mother, and placed him on a golden slab (bench). They said," The
queen may rejoice indeed at having given birth to such a fortunate
child!". If the Devas rejoiced at the event how much more could the
men. By the side of these stūpas there is a great stone pillar, on
the top of which was the figure of a horse built by Aśoka. It was
broken off in the middle and fell to the ground due to the
contrivance (thunder stroke) of a wicked dragon. By the side of it
is a little oil river flowing to the south-east, where Mayadevĩ had
brought forth her child to wash and to purify herself. After
Hiuen-Tsiang many other pilgrims had visited this place from time to
time. One of them was Wu-Kung who came in 764 AD. Due to the absence
of records very little is known about the condition of the area. The
monumental and habitational structures, stone sculptures, terracotta
human and animal figurines, fragments of pottery belonging to the
Mauryan, Suńga, Kushaņa, Gupta, Vardhan and Sena-Pala periods, found
here prove that Lumbini was well-populated till the early-medieval
period and was frequently visited by the monks, nuns and other
devotees from time to time. The names of Jitari Malla ( 1287-89 AD)
and Ripu Malla (1312 AD) were engraved on the stone columns
(pillars) at Nigalihawa and Lumbini garden. It consists of the
words, "Om mani padme hum, shree Ripumallaschiran jayatu, 1234". The
former portion is a Mahayani Buddhist prayer and the later portion
means " prince Ripu Malla, be victorious for long 1234". The year
1234 in the Saka era, corresponding to 1312 AD. Bhuwan Lal Pradhan
has claimed that Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517 AD) and Aurangzeb
(1668-1707AD) were mainly responsible for the destruction of
cultural heritage and property of the Lumbini- Kapilvastu region.
During the reign of Mukunda Sena I (1540-1575 AD), Mukunda Sena II
(1750-82 AD) and Mahadatta Sena (1782- 93 AD) in Palpa the previous
religious condition in the region could not be retained. The site
was lost in the dense forest until the discovery of General Raņa,
Governor of Palpa.
