PM Modi lays foundation stone of India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Nepal’s Lumbini

On the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Lumbini, Nepal at around 10:30 am on Monday. Here he laid the foundation stone of the India International Center for Buddhist Culture and Heritage being built on the initiative of India in Nepal. In this center, there will be a study on Buddhist tradition.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba welcomed PM Modi at the helipad. Both the Prime Ministers offered prayers at the Maya Devi temple. After which he circumambulated the Pushkarni pond. Along with this he also worshiped the sacred Bodhi tree.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that PM Modi and Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Dr. Arju Rana Deuba paid homage to the marker stone inside the Maya Devi temple complex, which indicates the exact birthplace of Lord Buddha. They attended the worship organized according to Buddhist customs.

After this Modi and Deuba lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar adjacent to the temple. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the pillar, erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, is the first epigraphic record of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha. When Prime Minister Modi came here in 2014, he gifted the Bodhi tree to Nepal. PM burnt the same tree after 8 years today.