GAUTAM BUDDHA

   Gautam Buddha ; Siddhartha Gautam was born in 623 BC in the sacred area of Lumbini located in the Terai plains of southern Nepal (Rupandehi District) , testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. Lumbini is one of the holiest places of one of the world's great religions, and its remains contain important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from as early as the 3rd century BC.The Shakya Prince Siddharta Gautama, was born to Queen Mayadevi, wife of King Suddodhana, ruler of Kapilavastu, in 623 BC at the famous gardens of Lumbini, while she was on a journey from her husband's capital of Tilaurakot to her family home in Devadaha.

The Buddhist temples fell into disrepair and eventually into ruins, not to be rediscovered until they were identified in 1896 by Dr A Fiihrer and Khadga Samsher, then Governor of Palpa, who discovered the Ashoka pillar.

EVIDENCES LORD BUDDHA WAS BORN IN NEPAL

• Testified by the inscription on the Asoka pillar, In 249 BC the devout Buddhist Emperor Ashoka, third of the Mauryan rulers of India, made a pilgrimage to Birthplace of Lord Buddha in company with his teacher, Upagupta, and erected pillars at Lumbini, Gotihawa, and Niglihawa,

• The archaeological remains of the Buddhist Vihars (monasteries) and Stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. 

• Its early history well documented in the accounts of Chinese travellers, notably Fa Hsien (4th century AD) and Hsuan Tsang (7th century AD), who described the temples, stupas, and other establishments that they visited there.

• In the early 14th century King Ripu Malla recorded his pilgrimage in the form of an additional inscription on the Ashoka pillar.

  Gautam Buddha founded Buddhism which spread far and wide. He attained Nirvana in Bodhgaya. Nirvana is the supreme state free from suffering and individual existence. It is a state refer to as "Enlightenment". The attainment of nirvana breaks the otherwise endless rebirth cycle of reincarnation. It's freedom from all worldly concerns such as greed, hate, and ignorance. No one can describe in words what nirvana is. It can only be experienced directly.

Source : ( http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666 )