Gautama Buddha was born at:

Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha) was born in the Lumbini grove, in the Rupandehi district of present-day Nepal, near the Indian border.

About the birth of the Buddha:

• According to tradition, he was born around 563 BCE (some scholars suggest a date around 480 BCE).
• His mother, Queen Maya (Mahamaya), was travelling to her parents' home when she gave birth in the Lumbini garden, under a sal tree.
• His father was Suddhodana.
• His birth is celebrated on Buddha Purnima, the full moon of the month of Vaishakha, which also marks his enlightenment and death.

Lumbini today:

• The Maya Devi Temple marks the exact spot of the birth, with a "marker stone" found during excavations.
• The sacred pond (Pushkarini), where Queen Maya is believed to have bathed before giving birth, is next to the temple.

An Ashokan pillar stands there, with an inscription stating that Ashoka visited the place in the 20th year of his reign, worshipped there because the Buddha was born here, and reduced the land tax of the village of Lumbini to one-eighth.

This inscription (the Rummindei pillar inscription) is one of the most important pieces of evidence for the location of the Buddha's birthplace.

The pillar was discovered in 1896 by the German archaeologist Alois Anton Fuhrer, with Khadga Shumsher Rana.

Lumbini was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

A master plan for the site was designed by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

The four great places of Buddhist pilgrimage:

• Lumbini (birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon) and the place of the Buddha's death.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the "India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage" at Lumbini in 2022.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kapilavastu was the capital of his clan, where he grew up.
• ✗Bodh Gaya is where he attained enlightenment.
• ✗Kaushambi was a city visited by the Buddha.