Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Nepal today on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. The prime minister has reached Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Among other engagements, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba today. As Prime Minister, this is PM Modi’s fifth visit to Nepal and the first to Lumbini.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba today watered the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya which was gifted by the former to Lumbini in 2014. They also signed the temple’s visitors’ book. The two Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple. The pillar, which was erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, bears the first epigraphic evidence of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha. They also paid their respects at the Marker Stone inside the Maya Devi temple premises, which pinpoints the exact birth spot of Lord Buddha. They attended the pooja conducted as per Buddhist rituals.
