1. Lumbini Garden
At Lumbini, it is not Buddha but his mother Maya Devi who is celebrated. She is best known for two scenes in the story of Buddha – one when she dreamt of a white elephant that indicated the conception of the great one. Second, when she was on her way from her husband King Sudhodhan of Sakya clan to her parents’ home in Devdaha for the delivery. Buddhist literature speaks in detail about the preparations that were made to ensure that she has a comfortable journey. Ponds were excavated at different places for her.It was at a pond at Lumbini that Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha in a standing position while holding the branch of a tree above her. It is said that the gods of the three worlds i.e. Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva came to receive the child. Buddha took birth and as soon as he was born, he walked seven steps. The place where his feet touched the earth, lotus flowers bloomed. This incident is believed to be the first miracle of Buddha’s life. He would do many miracles later in life.
2. Kapilvastu
Gautama Buddha, a prince who left his luxury in search of solutions that can cure diseases, sufferings and death. A prince who could have enjoyed his royal dynasty, but he chose the path full of thrown, pain and darkness. At the age of 34, he attained the supreme enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. When the prince Siddhartha Gautama left his kingdom Shakya for discovering solutions to make the life free from sufferings, he was just 29 years old.
At Kapilavastu, the Lord Gautama Buddha was grown up and led a family life with his wife and son Rahul till he left for Nirvana. The Ashoka Pillar situated at Kapilavastu marks the latter references about the place. This place is located in the Himalayan ranges of Nepal. Kapilavastu is the district and comes under Lumbini Zone, Nepal.
3. Devdaha
Devdaha is the ancient capital of Koliya kingdom. It is located 240 km southwest from Kathmandu, 54 km east of Lumbini and 25 km northwest from Ramgram across the Rohini River on the foothills of Churia hills. It is maternal home town of queen Mayadevi who gave birth to Siddartha Gautam, Prajapati Gautami (step mother) and queen Yashodhara (consort). It was a place where Siddhartha Gautam spent some years of his childhood. Seven years after enlightenment, Buddha visited Devdaha and converted many Koliyans and ordained a Jain sadhu Nigrantha Nathputra.
4. Rama Grama Stupa
Situated about 50km east of Lumbini and 29km east of Bhairahawa. Ramagrama Stupa is one amongst the eight original relic stupas where the corporeal remains of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha were enshrined. The 7m high brick mound (stupa) is located on the bank of Jharahi river. The mound structure was first discovered in 1899 AD by Dr. W. Hoey, a historian from the Asiatic Society of Bengal before it was confirmed to be a stupa by S. B. Deo later in 1964. The Department of Archaeology (DoA) of Nepal carried out an excavation of the mound in 1997. Adequate information about the history of the stupa has been brought to light from the five-year excavation program. However, the core of the stupa was not touched to respect the sentiment attached to its sanctity. The stupa had four distinct phases of construction, which proves that it is an age-old monument. The archaeological findings reveal that restoration and reconstruction of the Stupa occurred during Mauryan, Sunga, Kusan and Gupta periods. It can be assumed that the stupa (the core untouched part) belongs to the Sakya era, which was enlarged and restored in phases during different periods of history. The regular maintenance of the stupa in all major historical periods (Maurya, Sunga, Kusan and Gupta) testifies the glory, significance and ancientness of the site. The great value of the precious stupa is confirmed by the due care given to it consistently over major historic periods.
