Thai Royal Family Member Visits Lumbini, Buddha's Birthplace

Lumbini. Saneenath Bilaskalyani, a member of the Thai royal family, has visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. She arrived in Lumbini on Thursday evening as part of her journey to the four major pilgrimage sites associated with the life of Buddha.

After performing special prayers and viewing the deity at the Mayadevi Temple on Friday morning, she was welcomed by Deepak Shrestha, Member Secretary of the Lumbini Development Trust, Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, Mayor of Siddharthanagar Municipality, and Smita Bhatta, Head of Planning. The 41-year-old Bilaskalyani is the wife of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who bestowed upon her the title of 'Royal Noble Consort'.

Leading a large delegation of 70 members, she visited the four major sites mentioned by Buddha at the time of his Mahaparinirvana. After visiting Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar in India, she entered Nepal via the Sunauli border. Bilaskalyani, who holds deep faith in the Buddhist tradition, was also given the high title of 'Chao Khun Phra' by the Thai King, a title given to monks and nuns.

Immediately after concluding her visit and viewing in Lumbini, she returned directly to Thailand from Gautam Buddha International Airport at 2 PM on Friday via a chartered 737 Boeing aircraft of the Thai Air Force.