Celebrated across most of South, Southeast, and East Asia, Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Buddha Day (also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, and Buddha Pournami), honors the birth of the prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Gautama Buddha and established Buddhism. Buddhist tradition and archaeologists agree that Gautama Buddha, who lived from around 563 to 483 BCE, was born in Lumbini, Nepal. Buddha’s father was King Śuddhodana, and his mother was Queen Maya Devi, who gave birth to him while traveling back to her native land.The Buddha was born at Lumbini, where the Mayadevi Temple, its gardens, and an Ashoka Pillar dated 249 BCE are located.