Ancient Buddhist temple at Lumbini, Nepal
Maya Devi Temple
is an ancient
Buddhist temple
situated at the
UNESCO World Heritage Site
of
Lumbini
, Nepal. It is the main temple at Lumbini, a site traditionally considered the birthplace of
Gautama Buddha
. The temple stands adjacent to a
sacred pool
(known as
puskarni
) and a sacred garden. The archaeological remains at the site were previously dated to the third-century BCE brick buildings constructed by
Ashoka
.
[1]
A sixth-century BCE timber shrine was discovered in 2013.
[2]
Maya, Buddha's Mother
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Maya
was the princess of
Koliya
kingdom and the queen of
?uddhodana
, king of
Kapilavastu
.
[3]
As per the Buddhist legends,
Maya
had a dream of white elephant with a lotus on its trunk entering her right side during her pregnancy.
[3]
[4]
The dream was interpreted as an arrival of a world ruler or a Buddha.
The Buddhist legends mention that Queen
Mayadevi
was on her way to her father's
Koliya
kingdom when she stopped near the garden of
Lumbini
to rest under a
Sal tree
and then went into labour, giving birth to
Gautama Buddha
.
[5]
The Buddha was born in 623 BC in
Lumbini
which was later testified by emperor
Ashoka
with a
P?li
inscription on a pillar, known as
Ashoka pillar
, marking his homage to the spot of Buddha's birth.
[5]
Seven days after the birth of Buddha, Maya died and was reborn in the
Tu?ita
heaven.
[3]
Maya's sister and Buddha's foster-mother,
Mahapajapati Gotami
, later became the first woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun by
Gautama Buddha
and is seen as an inspirational and instrumental figure in the creation of a female order within
Buddhism
.
[6]
Temple Archaeology
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Maya Devi temple houses the marker stone and the nativity sculpture related to the birth of
Gautama Buddha
. The ancient Maya Devi temple was built during the visit of emperor
Ashoka
in
Lumbini
around 249 BC using burnt bricks to safeguard the marker stone and nativity sculpture
[7]
The radiocarbon dating of the posthole alignments from the surrounding soils have indicated that the sacred space was first delineated within the Maya Devi temple in the 6th century BCE.
[8]
From 2010, an archeological team consisting of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO
), Durham University, Nepal's Department of Archaeology and the Lumbini Development Trust initiated excavation work at the Maya Devi temple supported by the
Government of Japan
.
[9]
The excavations have identified that the earlier structures date back to the life period of
Gautama Buddha
in the 6th century BCE, and have gone through series of constructions and renovations over historical periods.
[9]
[10]
The excavated shrines have been dated as the earliest Buddhist shrines in South Asia, and in addition, older remains of the village dating back to 1300 BC have been discovered a few hundred meters south of the temple.
[9]
The marker stone of the temple marks the location where the Buddha was born and the nativity sculpture showcases the birth scene of
Gautama Buddha
where queen
Maya
is depicted holding a branch of Sal tree during delivery, supported by her sister,
Mahapajapati Gotami
.
[4]
Religious significance
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At the age of 80, before the
parinirvana
of
Gautama Buddha
, he said to his disciples:
[8]
"There are, O monks, four places on earth which a believing householder's son or a believing householder's daughter should commemorate as long as they live. Which are those four? ?here the Venerable One has been born ?here the Venerable One has attained the unsurpassable complete enlightenment ?here the Venerable One has turned the threefold-turning, twelve-spoked lawful wheel ?here the Venerable One has gone to the realm of complete nirv??a." - D?ghanik?ya, 16;
Mah?parinibb??a Sutta
Lumbini
is one of the four most sacred pilgrimage site along with
Bodh Gaya
,
Sarnath
and
Kushinagar
.
Lumbini
signifying the place where the
Buddha
was born,
Bodh Gaya
signifying the place where he attained
Enlightenment
,
Sarnath
signifying the place where he gave his first sermon and
Kushinagar
signifying the place where
Gautama Buddha
attained
parinirvana
; is a pilgrimage circuit in
Buddhism
as
Buddha's Holy Sites
.
See also
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Gallery
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References
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External links
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Further reading
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]