Buddha Jayanti: PM Modi to visit Nepal’s Lumbini today; here’s what’s on agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Lumbini in Nepal today on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti. The Prime Minister has been invited by his counterpart, Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. This is PM Modi’s fifth visit to Nepal since 2014 and the first since his re-election in 2019. 

In his departure statement, PM Modi said, “I look forward to offering prayers at the Mayadevi Temple on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti. I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of millions of Indians to pay reverence at the sacred site of Lord Buddha's birth. 

I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again after our productive discussions during his visit to India last month. We will continue to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.”

Maya Devi Temple is traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, and is an important site of worship in Lumbini.

Apart from offering his prayers at the Mayadevi Temple, the Prime Minister will also participate in the ‘Shilanyas’ ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone. He will, additionally, be part of the Buddha Jayanti celebrations, organised by the Government of Nepal. 

“Our ties with Nepal are unparalleled. The civilisational and people-to-people contacts between India and Nepal form the enduring edifice of our close relationship. My visit is intended to celebrate and further deepen these time-honoured linkages that have been fostered through centuries and recorded in our long history of inter-mingling,” he said. 

Nepal PM Deuba will host a lunch for PM Modi and his delegation too. 

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