According to Buddhist tradition, Siddhartha Gautama was born at Lumbini beneath a sal tree.
Lumbini is traditionally identified as the birthplace of the Buddha and is located in present-day Nepal. Buddhist accounts say that Queen Maya gave birth while holding a branch of a sal tree in the garden. The sal, or Shorea robusta, is native to the Indian subcontinent and is important in Buddhist sacred traditions.
The sal tree is sometimes confused with the Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree is associated with Gautama’s enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, whereas the sal tree is associated with his birth at Lumbini. Sal trees are also linked with the Buddha’s death at Kushinagar in traditional accounts.
Lumbini later became a major pilgrimage site. An inscription commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka identifies the location as connected with the Buddha’s birth.