NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Cultural and Heritage in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
PM Modi is in Nepal to celebrate Buddha Purnima at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. PM Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Nepal Deuba.
Earlier, PM Modi had offered prayers at the Maya Devi temple. He was accompanied by PM Deuba and his wife Dr Arzu Rana Deuba.
PM Modi also paid his respect at the Marker Stone inside the temple premises, which pinpoints the birth spot of Lord Buddha. PM Modi also attended a prayer session inside the temple conducted with Buddhist rituals.
Sharing images from the visit, Modi tweeted, “I feel blessed to have prayed at the Maya Devi Temple on Buddha Purnima. May Lord Buddha bless us all and make our planet peaceful and prosperous.”
While in the Lumbini, PM Modi and PM Deuba 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.
Thereafter, the two Prime Ministers went to water the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya. The sapling was gifted by PM Modi to Lumbini in 2014 and also signed the temple’s visitor’s book.