Some of the group of nuns were preparing to board a boat to cross the river, while others had already boarded a boat to cross the river. They had not boarded a boat to wander and stroll in the bitter cold of the Terai. This is a scene of them crossing the Anomaghat (Narayani River), following in the footsteps of the Shakya dynasty queen Mahaprajapati Gautami, about 2,616 years ago.

One hundred nuns have walked along the ancient trail from Rajprasad Tilaurakot Kapilvastu to Vaishali, India, after enduring many hardships.

Nuns from 13 countries have walked the ‘Mahaprajapati Gautami Great Renunciation Trail’. They are traveling on dusty roads, fields and rivers. After completing their three-day journey through Nepal, they are traveling to India. Tourism entrepreneurs from Nepal and India have started this initiative to attract spiritual tourists by developing it as a new tourism ‘product’.

The journey began with a worship service in Tilaurakot, the capital of the Shakya dynasty and the place where Prince Siddhartha spent his 29 years of youth. In Tilaurakot itself, 24 women participated in the journey by becoming prabajjaya (nuns) for 10 days. The journey began at 6 am on Thursday amidst fog from the eastern gate in Tilaurakot. Indian scholar and coordinator of the 'Mahaprajapati Gautami Great Renunciation Trail' program, Deepak Anand, said that they reached Lumbini, Ramgram and Anomaghat (Susta) via Tilaurakot, Nigrodharam. The nuns crossed the river at Anomaghat. After that, the team returned to Sunauli and entered India on Saturday.

The journey will end on Wednesday after reaching Baishali via Valmikinagar, Nandangadh, Lauria Areraj, Kesariya in India. The 300-kilometer journey will take a week and will end on Poush 9. Nuns from 13 countries including Nepal, India, Thailand, America, Canada, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Australia are participating in the journey.

The nuns will walk 5/7 kilometers daily and then complete the journey by bus, said Anand, the coordinator of the program. The program is attended by 65 nuns from Nepal and India and 35 from other countries. ‘The program is designed to make people feel how much suffering Queen Prajapati Gautami had to endure to become a nun,’ said Coordinator Anand. ‘Nowadays, there are vehicles. At that time, there was no other option but to walk. It was to make them feel how they would have reached there by walking.’

Cambodian nun Dhamma Anusarya said that the feeling of peace along with the suffering experienced while walking has added new energy to her life. ‘I came from Cambodia to participate after hearing about the journey,’ she said. ‘I accumulated amazing merit while traveling, touching the place where Queen Prajapati’s feet were. Which has always been unforgettable for my life.’

Indian scholar Deepak Anand, who has been studying this trail for 8 years, said,  . ‘I walked around some places in Nepal and India. I discovered many facts,’ he said, ‘Many people praised this trail . I did nothing new, I worked to connect the heritage of the two countries .’ He said that he is happy to see that Nepal-India has now become a joint living heritage of both countries . He said that the support of the distinguished American bhikshuni Thataloka Mahatheri has also been of equal strength to complete this journey . 

The Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International, India, in collaboration with United Therabad Bhikshuni Sangha International, Nav Nalanda Mahavihar, Nalanda University and Nepal’s Buddha Circuits.com organized the program. Bhikshuni Shantachari, who came from Australia, said that she was lucky to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha’s mother, who has been forgotten by many. ‘No matter how much I praise Queen Prajapati for this great and sacrificial work, it is not enough. That is why the Nepalese of the land that gave birth to the Buddha always live in happiness and joy,’ she said, ‘For the liberation of women, Prajapati walked about 500 miles barefoot and suffered many hardships before becoming a nun. Because of which I have become a nun now.’

After the death of Maharaja Suddhodana, Queen Prajapati had become bored and tried to become a nun. When Gautam Buddha came to Kapilvastu twice after attaining enlightenment, she requested to become a nun. However, the Buddha refused. 6/7 years after the Buddha attained enlightenment, she and 500 Sakya women, including Yashodhara, reached Vaishali to become nuns. Seeing the suffering, pain, torn clothes and their weak physical condition of the women, Ananda, the Buddha’s chief disciple, consulted the Buddha. Then the Buddha gave his approval to establish the Bhikkhuni Sangha. And 500 Shakya women became Bhikkhunis, said senior archaeologist Vasant Bidari, in Buddhist literature. ‘This is an inspiring and new spiritual tourism product,’ he said, ‘This can attract many mothers from around the world. It will become a new unique tourism destination.’

The journey made by Mahaprajapati Gautami in the sixth century BC was historic and meaningful. Bikram Padekanji, goodwill ambassador of the Lumbini Development Fund, said that he had studied and researched the same journey for a long time and was now able to organize a program that added a new dimension to peace tourism. He said that this journey would add a milestone in the ‘heritage’ tourism of the two countries.