5. September - October 2010

HERITAGE
we can assume that Lumbini presented an
undulating landscape of considerable beauty.
Hinayana, a simple religion in which he followed
to a large extent. This was a direct and simple
philosophy that appealed to the masses.
In 1896, Gen. Khadga S. Rana of Nepal
(Commanding General of Western Nepal) and
archaeologist, Dr. Alois Fuhrer of Germany
(Archaeological Surveyor, north-western Provinces
and Oudh under Archaeological Survey of India),
became the first pioneers in discovering the southwestern
plain of Nepal - the Lumbini Garden. It lies
in the Terai about 20 kms west of Siddharthanagar
(Bhairahawa) in Rupandehi District of Lumbini
Zone in the Republic of Nepal. Geographically,
historically and politically, Nepal occupies a
position in between two great empires of India and
China and has drunk deeply from the two culturally
rich springs, drawing inspirations from both its
grand neighbours, as the political current ebbed
or flowed - an influence clearly illustrated in the
building styles of Nepal. In addition, there is the
religious, cultural and philosophical effect of that
great tide of Buddhism, which swept through the
continent of Asia before and after the beginning of
the Christian era, inspiring every people and every
activity in its vicinity.
History and its present development
The descriptions of famous ancient Chinese
pilgrims, Huian Tsang (who travelled through
India between AD 629 & 645) and Fa Hein (who
travelled between AD 400 & AD 414) indicate to
this area, saying, “Lumbini, where the Lord was
born, is a piece of heaven on earth where one
could see the snowy mountains amidst a splendid
garden embedded with stupas and monasteries.”
Buddhist literature describes Lumbini as a
pradimoksha – vana blessed with blooming
sal-trees and masses of beautiful flowers, and a
place where bees of five colours hum. The sweet
warbling of various birds and other natural scenery
in Lumbini was compared to the Chittalata (mind
captivating) grove of Indra’s (Hindu rain god)
paradise in heaven. From these descriptions,
www.spacesnepal.com 76
September-October 2010
Geographically, historically and
politically, Nepal occupies a position
in between two great empires of India
and China and has thus been greatly
inspired and influenced by changes in
their political and cultural history.
The undercurrent of Buddhism which runs
throughout the religious system of the country
during the entire history originated at an early
date. It is recorded that in the 3rd cent. BC., the
Mauryan emperor of present day India, Ashoka,
made a pilgrimage to Nepal and commemorated
this event with the foundation of innumerable
stupas and pillars as a token of his success in
bringing the inhabitants into the Buddhist fold.
Lumbini was lost in oblivion until it was discovered
by the German Archaeologist, Dr. Fuhrer,
wandering in the foothills of Churia (Siwalik)
range, and the Ashokan pillar presented the first
epigraphic evidence relating to the life history of
Lord Buddha - the most visible landmark of the
Sacred Garden.
The historic importance of the pillar is evidenced
by the inscription engraved in the pillar (in Brahmi
script). Also, the Nativity Sculpture (found above
the Marker stone) and Marker stone itself are
important as it fixes the place of the Nativity of
Buddha with deftness and precision and provides
answers to the controversies regarding the
birthplace of Lord Buddha. There are multiple facts
that leads to a logical conclusion that Lumbini is
the birthplace of Lord Buddha. From excavations it
has been found that the Ashokan pillar stands on
its original base of unburnt brick platform which
concludes that the Pillar is at its original location.
Furthermore the inscription in the pillar “si la vi
ga da bhi cha” 1 (interpretations are varying, but
translations is believed to mean “at the centre of
marking stone slab”) pointed out there is a marker
stone on a brick platform. Excavations done also
have proved that the marker stone is on seven
layers of brickwork which might have represented
seven steps taken by Lord Buddha immediately
after his birth 2 . On account of geological nature of
the marker stone, it is has been clearly accepted
among the scientific community that the stone is
non-Ashokan 3 . Thus concluding that the marker
stone is also at its original location.
The Ashokan pillar, discovered by Gen. Khadga S. Rana
and Dr. Alois Fuhrer in 1896, presented the first epigraphic
evidence relating to the life history of Lord Buddha. From
Dr. Fuhrer’s records, the Ashokan monolith was 22’-4”
high, standing upon a masonry platform, and bore, about
9’-8” from its base, a well preserved inscription of the
Mauryan period in five lines. The pillar tapered slightly, as
its circumference at the base was 8’-3”; near the inscribed
portion 7’-5”; and at the top 6’-6”. There are stories that the
pillar, burnished and polished to a unique mirror-like lustre,
was surmounted with a horse-capital, which was afterwards
sundered from it by the machinations of a wicked dragon .
This can be agreed upon with the fact that an Ashokan pillar
always comes with a capital as in case of Sarnath of India