Lumbini Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Lumbini - Essay Example It was in the month of May, 642 BC when Maya Devi on her way to Devadaha , her parents home gave birth to Lord Buddha while resting under a sal tree . The nativity scene of Lord Buddha was built by the Malla kings during their rule which lasted from the 11th to the 15th century in the Karnali zone of Nepal . This wonderful work of sculpture which was initiated by the kings of the Naga Dynasty is worshipped not only by the Buddhists but by the Hindus as well. When Lumbini was visited by Ashoka, the Emperor, in 249 BC, it was a prosperous village. The stone pillar with a horse on its top and the four stupas which we come across on our visit to Lumbini was built by him during this period . From the inscription on the Stone Pillar we can also derive the information that it was during this visit that taxes were reduced on the village and it was subjected to only eight parts. (Insoll, 66) However despite being one of the stalwarts in Indian History, Lumbini was subjected to negligence for several centuries till the time a famous German archeologist while traveling around the foothills of the Churiya range discovered the great pillar in the year 1895 . His name was Feuhrer. At a later stage the existence of a Brick temple and a sculpture of sandstone carrying images of Buddha’s birth was found. After further exploration it was found that the temple of Maya Devi was possibly built on one of the Ashokan stupa itself . On the south of this temple is a bathing pool named Puskarni which is considered to be sacred and the pages of history reveal that in this pool Maya Devi took a bath before giving birth