INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LUMBINI, MAY 16India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered prayers at the
He arrived in Lumbini today morning on an official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
India PM Narendra Modi arrives, PM Deuba welcomes him in
Lumbini
Along with the Indian PM, Prime Minister
Deuba and his spouse Dr Arzu Rana Deuba also offered worship and prayers.
Buddhist monks chanted hymns in praise of Buddha
as the prime ministers of the two countries paid homage at the Temple.The Indian dignitary circumambulated the holy pond as well as lighted
a butter lamp at the Ashoka Pillar in the premises of the Mayadevi Temple.The two prime ministers also on the occasion watered the Bodhi
Brikshya tree close to the Ashoka Pillar.Prior to this, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale and Lumbini
Development Trust (LDT) vice-chair Bhikkhu Maitreya Shakya Putta welcomed the Indian prime minister and his Nepali counterpart to the temple
premises.Also today, the prime ministers of India and Nepal jointly laid the foundation stone for the India International Buddhist Culture
and Heritage Centre to be constructed on a plot of land at the local International Buddhist Monastic Zone provided by the Government of
Nepal, and unveiled the stone inscription kept there.Before this, the Prime Minister duo and First Lady Dr Deuba listened to the recitation
of the Paritrana and chanting of sacred hymns with reverence.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com