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Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the
Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place
where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama,
who in turn, as the Buddha Gautama, gave birth to the Buddhist
tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE. Lumbini is
one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to
the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and
Sarnath. Lumbini is in the foothills of the Himalaya, 25 km east of the
municipality of Kapilavastu, where the Buddha is said to have lived till
the age of 29. Kapilvastu is the name of the place in question as well
as of the neighbouring district. Lumbini has a number of temples,
including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also here
is the Puskarini or Holy Pond - where the Buddha's mother took the
ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath - as
well as the remains of Kapilvastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini,
earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate
awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.
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