Mount Kailash lies in the southwestern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. At 6,714 m (22,027 ft), Mount Kailas is the highest peak in the Kailas Range of the Himalayas . Mount Kailas is separated from the Great Himalayas chain by a trough that is drained in the northwest by the Sutlej River and in the southeast by the Yarlung Zangbo River (the extreme upper Brahmaputra River ). Mapam Lake , lying just south of Mount Kailash at 4,557 m (14,950 ft), is one of the world's highest lakes.
Mount Kailas , which has religious significance for both Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists, is an important pilgrimage site. For Hindus, the peak is the home of the god Shiva, while Tibetan Buddhists equate the mountain with Mount Sumeru , the cosmic center of the universe
Lake MANSAROVER:
The great lake Mansarover is situated in the south-west corner of Tibet and in the north-west of Nepal . It beyond high Himalayas which borders Nepal and China . Tibetan plateau in itself is unique in its geographic make up with its fauna and flora and mythical setup of ecosystem. The lake is 20 kms from Mt.Kailash and is one of the most beautiful and sacred lake in Asia . It can be circumambulated in four or five days. It is often a gem like cobalt blue color but during storm, it can turn into a churning black sometimes.
According to Hindu and Buddisht epics, the four great rivers of the Indian sub-continent, the Indus , Ganga , Sutlej and Brahamaputra actually arise from Mansarover. In reality, only the Sutlej originates from the lake. Mansarover has been circumambulated by the Indian pilgrims at least since being extolled in the sacred Sanskrit literature called the Puranas around 1700 years ago. Legends has that the mother of Buddha, Mayadevi was bathe at Mansarovar by Gods before giving birth to her son.
The greatest impetus to Buddha’s teachings came from the Indian King Ashoka who went on a great pilgrimage visiting the important sites that are directly associated with his life, in the Footsteps of Lord Buddha. Primary amongst these holy places are Lumbini in Nepal, and Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar in India. There are other places of lesser significance on the Footsteps of Lord Buddha visitor circuit associated closely with Buddha’s life. Amongst these are Buddha’s monsoon retreats of Vaishali, Rajgir and Sravastii in India, and his early home at Tilaurakot in Kapilavastu Nepal. Lumbini: Lumbini in southern Nepal is where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Prince Siddhartha. It is just a short distance from the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu. Pilgrimages focus on the sacred garden which contains the site of the birth, the Mayadevi temple, the Pashkarni pond and the Ashoka pillar. Designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, the sacred garden of Lumbini is a World Heritage Site with monasteries from many Buddhist nations. It is recognised as a supreme pilgrimage site and symbol of world peace. Lumbini, the Lord Buddha's birthplace, evokes the same kind of holy sentiment to the millions of Buddhists all over the world as does Jerusalem to Christians and Mecca to Muslims. For centuries, Buddhists all over the world knew Lumbini was where the Buddha was born, however, the exact location remained uncertain and obscured until as recently as 1886 when a wandering archaeologist came across a stone pillar and ascertained the exact location. The historic importance of the pillar is evidenced by the inscription engraved on it, in Brahmin script. It reads that Emperor Ashoa (sometimes spelled Ashoka) visited the site in the twentieth year of his ascendancy to the throne (around 300 BCE), and as homage to the birthplace, erected the pillar. South of the Ashoa Pillar is the famous sacred pool "Puskarni'' believed to be the same sacred pool in which Maya Devi took a holy dip just before giving birth to the Lord and also where the infant Buddha was given his first purification bath. The single most important place in Lumbini is the stone slab located deep in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Revealed after hard and meticulous excavations under three layers of ruins over the site of a famous Maya Devi temple, the stone slab marks the exact spot of the birthplace of Lord Buddha. In addition to the Ashoa Pillar, the other shrine of importance is the bas-relief image of Maya Devi, kept in a small pagoda-like structure. The image shows Maya Devi, mother of the Lord, supporting herself by holding on with her right hand to a branch of the Sal tree, with the newly born infant Buddha standing upright on a lotus pedestal on an oval halo. Two other celestial figures are depicted in an act of pouring water and lotuses from heaven. Primary points of homage are the Mahabodhi Temple, the Vajrasan throne donated by King Ashoka, the holy Bodhi Tree, the Animeshlochana chaitya, the Ratnachankramana, the Ratnagaraha, the Ajapala Nigrodha Tree, the Muchhalinda Lake and the Rajyatna Tree. The spiritual home of all Buddhists, devotees from many Buddhist countries have built temples around the complex in their characteristic architectural styles. Bodhgaya today is a vibrant and inspiring tourist attraction. Sarnath: Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath after achieving enlightenment, about 10 km from the ancient holy city of Varanasi. The sermon, setting in motion the wheel of the teaching (dharamchakrapravartna) revealed to his followers the 4 noble truths, the concept of the 3 jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha via the 8 fold path, for inner peace and enlightenment. It was here that the Buddha established his first disciples (sangha) to promote his new doctrine. The splendid Dhamekha Stupa at Sarnath was originally erected by King Ashoka, as was the famous lion capital pillar, now the proud symbol of India. Kushinagar: At Kushinagar close to Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India en route to Kapilavastu, Lord Buddha fell ill and left this world in 543 BC. His mortal remains were preserved in eight commemorative chortens, and then further distributed by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas across his kingdom and beyond. Important places to see here are the Mukatanabandhana stupa and the Gupta period reclining Buddha statue in red sandstone. Vaishali: The Buddha preached his last sermon before his death at Vaishali in Bihar, 60 km away from its capital Patna. It was here that he told his disciple Ananda about his imminent demise. The Second Buddhist Council was held in Vaishala about 110 years later. Rajgir & Nalanda University: About 70 km from Bodhgaya, Rajgir was Buddha’s monsoon retreat for 12 years whilst he spread his doctrine. It was at the holy Griddhikuta Hill that he expounded the precepts of his Lotus Sutra and the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. The Saptaparni Caves set on Vaibhar Hill were the venue of the First Buddhist Council, held to compile the teachings of the Buddha in its authentic form, after his death. The world-renowned university of Nalanda is another important landmark site. Shravasti: About 150 km from the city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Shravasti was Buddha’s favourite rainy season retreat where he Buddha performed his first miracle The birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lumbini, is the Mecca of every Buddhist, being one of the four holy places of Buddhism. It is said in the Parinibbana Sutta that Buddha himself identified four places of future pilgrimage: the sites of his birth, enlightenment, first discourse, and death. All of these events happened outside in nature under trees. While there is not any particular significance in this, other than it perhaps explains why Buddhists have always respected the environment and natural law Lumbini is situated at the foothills of the Himalayas in modern Nepal. In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was a beautiful garden full of green and shady Sal trees (Shorea). The garden and its tranquil environs were owned by both the Sha kyas and Kolias clans. King Suddhodana, father of Gautama Buddha was of the Shakya dynasty belonging to the Kshatriya or the warrior caste. Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her way to her parent's home in Devadaha while taking rest in Lumbini under a sal tree in the month of May in the year 642 B.C. The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali and Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi it is said was spellbound to see the natural grandeur of Lumbini. While she was standing, she felt labor pains and catching hold of a drooping branch of a Sal tree, the baby, the future Buddha, was born. The bas relief above [ click to view ] depicts Maya Devi with her right hand holding on to a branch of a sal tree with a newborn child standing upright on a lotus petal, shedding an oval halo, around his head, while two celestial figures pour water and lotuses from vessels of heaven as indicated by the delineation of clouds. This nativity scene was installed by Malla Kings of the Naga dynasty from about the 11th to 15th Century in the Karnali zone of Nepal. In 249 BC, when the Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini it was a flourishing village. Ashoka constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top. The stone pillar bears an inscription which, in English translation, runs as follows: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected to the Bhagavan having been born here, Lumbini village was taxed reduced and entitled to the eight part (only)". Maya Devi Temple
It is pointed out by scholars that the temple of Maya Devi was constructed over the foundations of more than one earlier temple or stupa, and that this temple was probably built on an Ashokan stupa itself. On the south of the Maya Devi temple there is the famous sacred bathing pool known as Puskarni. It is believed that Maha Devi took a bath in this pool before the delivery. By the side of the Ashoka pillar there is a river which flows southeast and is locally called the 'Ol' river. In 1996, an archaeological dig unearthed a "flawless stone" placed there by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC to mark the precise location of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600 years ago, if authenticated, the find will put Lumbini even more prominently on the map for millions of religious pilgrims. Recently, several beautiful shrines have been built by devotees from Buddhist countries. A visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, is not only for spiritual enlightenment but also for solace and satisfaction that one gets in such a calm and peaceful place. |
Lumbini remained neglected for centuries. In 1895, Feuhrer, a famous German archaeologist, discovered the great pillar while wandering about the foothills of the Churia range. Further exploration and excavation of the surrounding area revealed the existence of a brick temple and a sandstone sculpture within the temple itself which depicts the scenes of the Buddha's birth.
Chitika 1
Chitika 2
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