| Maya Devi Temple | |
|---|---|
 Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, Nepal | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| Location | |
| Location | Lumbini |
| Country | Nepal |
  Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini (Nepal) Show map of Nepal | |
| Geographic coordinates | 27°28′10″N83°16′33″E / 27.469554°N 83.275788°E /27.469554; 83.275788 |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 3rd century BCE (Maya Devi Temple)~550 BCE (earlier shrine beneath) |
 | |
Maya Devi Temple is an ancientBuddhist temple situated at theUNESCO World Heritage Site ofLumbini, Nepal. It is the main temple at Lumbini, a site traditionally considered the birthplace ofGautama Buddha. The temple stands adjacent to asacred pool (known aspushkarani) and a sacred garden. The archaeological remains at the site were previously dated to the third-century BCE brick buildings constructed byAshoka.[1] A sixth-century BCE timber shrine was discovered in 2013.[2]
Maya was the princess ofKoliya kingdom and the queen ofŚuddhodana, king ofKapilavastu.[3] According to Buddhist legends,Maya had a dream of a 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 QueenMayadevi was on her way to her father'sKoliya kingdom when she stopped near the garden ofLumbini to rest under aSal tree and then went into labour, giving birth toGautama Buddha.[5] The Buddha was born in 623 BC inLumbini which was later testified by emperorAshoka with aPāli inscription on a pillar, known asAshoka 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 theTuṣita heaven.[3] Maya's sister and Buddha's foster-mother,Mahapajapati Gotami, later became the first woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun byGautama Buddha and is seen as an inspirational and instrumental figure in the creation of a female order withinBuddhism.[6]
Maya Devi temple houses the marker stone and the nativity sculpture related to the birth ofGautama Buddha. The ancient Maya Devi temple was built during the visit of emperorAshoka inLumbini 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'sDepartment of Archaeology, and the Lumbini Development Trust initiated excavation work at the Maya Devi temple supported by theGovernment of Japan.[9] The excavations have identified that the earlier structures date back to the life period ofGautama 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 ofGautama Buddha where queenMaya is depicted holding a branch of Sal tree during delivery, supported by her sister,Mahapajapati Gotami.[4]
At the age of 80, before theparinirvana ofGautama 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 nirvāṇa." - Dīghanikāya, 16;Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta
Lumbini is one of the four most sacred pilgrimage site along withBodh Gaya,Sarnath andKushinagar.Lumbini signifying the place where theBuddha was born,Bodh Gaya signifying the place where he attainedEnlightenment,Sarnath signifying the place where he gave his first sermon andKushinagar signifying the place whereGautama Buddha attainedparinirvana; is a pilgrimage circuit inBuddhism asBuddha's Holy Sites.
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