Two main religion of Nepal

Source Nepal Tourism Board

Hindusim

Thousands of gods and goddesses make up the Hindu pantheon. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three major Hindu gods who have their own characteristics and incarnations. Each god has his own steed which often seen kneeling faithfully outside that god's temple . Symbolic objects are carried by the multiple hands of each deity which empowers them to perform great feats .

Buddhism

Skyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism who lived and taught in this part of the world during the sixth century BC. The great stupas of  Swayambhunath and Boudhanath are among the oldest and most beautiful worship sites in the Kathamandu valleys.

The spinning of prayer wheels, prostrating pilgrims. collective chants and burning butter lamps are some Buddhist practices often encountered by tourists. A slip of paper bearing a mantra is kept inside the wheels so that  prayers are sent to the gods when the wheel is spun. Scenes from the Buddha's life and Buddhist realms are depicted on thangka scroll paintain which are used during mediation and prayer ceremonies. Many Buddhist followers are seen performing these practices in Swayambhunath. Boudhanath, and at other Buddhist sites around the valley.

Lumbini

Shakyammuni Buddha was born in Limbini, in southeren Nepal, twenty-five hundred years ago. Since his time, Nepal has been a sacred ground for Buddhists as the birthplace of the Buddha. Lumbini is a small town in the southern Terai plains of Nepal, where the ruins of the old city can still be seen. Shakyamuni Buddha was born to a royal family. His

mother, Queen Maya Devi, had a dream, she saw a white elephant with nine tusks come down to her from the heavens and enter her body. When the time of his delivery approached, she left for her parental home, according to the practice of the time. En route to her parents, home, she gave birth to Siddhartha  Gautam in the garden of Lumbini.

The prince is said to hanve emerged from her right side as she rested her arm on the branch of a fig tree. And immediately after birth, he took seven steps in the four cardinal directions and wherever his feet touched the ground, a lotus bloomed.

After this powerful birth, Prince Siddhartha lived in his father's palace, shielded from the evil and the pain of the outside world. His father had been informed by the seers of the time that the prince would either become a holy man. Fearing his son would leave the world for religious practice, the king took pains to see that prince Siddhartha neither saw nor experienced suffering. Thus he hoped Siddhartha would become a great emperor and never dream of leaving the kingdom.

But Siddhartha- who had lived a life of isolated royal splendor- inevitably ventured beyond the castle walls one day. Outside these walls he came across sorrow, pain, death and a man whose life was devoted to releaseing others from those sufferings. He saw a beggar, a cripple, a corpse, and  a holy man . These encounters affected the young prince deeply, awakening a deep desire to find the ultimate cause of suffering and thus alleviate it. One night,  when all were asleep inside the palace, he escaped. He cast aside his princely garments, cut his hair, and began the life of a wandering ascetic.

For years he fasted, mediated and spent his time in a rigorous and painful search to find a way to end suffering. On a full-moon night in the north indian town of Bodhgaya, as he midiated under tree, Siddhartha had a direct realization of nirvana, eternal peace. This transformed the mortal prince into a Buddha.

He spent the rest of his life guiding people towards nirvana, love, and friendship. When it was time for him to leave this world, he had thousands of followers to keep Buddhism alive. He left this world (a person who has attained nirvana is freed from the cycle of life and death)  at the age of 84, having exhausted his human body for the sake of all sentient beings.

Lumbini has since beeb a holy ground for Buddhists all over the world. The restored garden and surroundings of Lumbini have the remains of many of the ancient stupas and monasteries. A large stone pillar erected by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 250 BC bears an inscription about the birth of the Buddha.

A quiet garden, shaded by the leafy Bo tree ( the type of tree under which Buddha received enlightenment), and a newly planted forest nearby lend an air of tranquility which bespeaks Buddha's teachings. Lumbini is now being developed under the master plan of the Lumbini Development Trust, a non governmental organization of Lumbini  and its development as a pilgrimage site. The plan, completed in 1978 by the renowned  Japanese architect  Kenzo Tange. will transform three square miles of land into sacred place of gardens, pools, buildings, and groves. The development will include a Monastic zone, the circular sacred Garden surrounding the Ashoka pillar and Maya Devi temple, and Lumbini village, whereas visitors will find lodges, restaurants,  a cultural center  and tourist facil-ities.

An important archeological site near Lumbini, Kapilvastu  evokes the ancient palace where Lord Buddha spent his formative years. Scattered foundation of the palace are abundant, and archeologists have by now discovered 13 successive layers of human habitation dating back to the eighth century BC. A must for archaeological and historical buffs!

Beside its religious and historical significance, Lumbini offers cultural insights into the village life of  southern Nepal. If possible, try to coincide your visit with the weekly monday bazaar when villagers come from miles around to buy grains, spices, pottery, jewelry, saris and various  other items. It may appear as a scene out of the Arabian Nights, with colorful merchandise spread out under the mango trees and the air perfumed  with incense. It's a chance to bargain for souvenirs while witnessing local life in Lumbini .Wood en Ox-carts loaded with hay trundle by. Villagers dry cow-dung for fuel, and tea stalls serve sweet milk tea.

Today, Lumbini is beginning to receive travelers and archaeologists  attention after centuries of neglect. Serious preservation work has only just been started in the later half of this century and Lumbini as a slice  of history is worth seeing and worth preserving. Royal Nepal Airlines and other airlines fly regularly to Bhairahawa, near Lumbini, and bus services  are available from Pokhara and Kathamandu.