It is believed that the Buddha was born on the full moon day in the month of Vaisakha. The day is now observed as Buddha Jayanti, in memory of this great son of India, one of the great religious teachers of the world.
The miraculous events connected with the birth of the Buddha are narrated in great detail in the Buddhist scriptures. As the time of His birth drew near, Queen Mahamaya traveled to her father's house. On the way, she stopped for rest at the grove of Lumbini. There, as she reached for a flower-laden bough of a sal tree, she painlessly gave birth to a son. As tradition puts it, the full moon shone brilliantly and there was a shower of beautiful flowers from heaven. The child leapt to the ground and took seven steps; at each step, a lotus sprang from the earth.
According to a similar tradition, the Buddha received enlightenment and also gained Nirvana on a full-moon day in the mouth of Vaisakha. Thus, the full-moon day (called Poornmashi ) of Vaisakha marks the three principal events in the Buddha's life.
It is noteworthy that though Buddhism flourished in far-off countries like China, Japan and, other eastern regions, it almost completely disappeared from the land of its birth. In the Indian sub-continent, it is now confined to Ladakh, Bhutan and Sikkim, where it has taken a somewhat different form. Lately there has been a revival of Buddhism within the country, and the neo-Buddhists celebrate Buddha Jayanti most fervently.
