Previous Year Question

The correct answer is Asoka.

The most important epigraphic evidence identifying Lumbini as the birthplace of Gautama Buddha is the Lumbini Pillar Inscription of the Mauryan emperor Asoka. It is also known as the Rummindei Pillar Inscription.

According to the inscription, Asoka personally visited Lumbini in the 20th year after his coronation and worshipped there because this was the place where Buddha, the Sage of the Sakyas, was born. This statement directly confirms Lumbini as the birthplace of the Buddha.

Asoka had a stone pillar erected there to commemorate his visit. The inscription also records special revenue concessions granted to the village of Lumbini. The village was made free from taxes and was required to pay only one-eighth of its produce as land revenue.

The inscription is particularly important because the identification of Buddha's birthplace does not depend merely on later religious tradition; it is confirmed by direct epigraphic evidence dating to the third century BCE.

UNESCO also recognizes the pillar erected by Asoka and its inscription as a principal piece of evidence identifying Lumbini as the birthplace of the Buddha.