Two themes are presented in this paper: one concerns the name of the place where, according to tradition, the future Buddha was born, Lumbinī-vana, and the other is devoted to the figure of the forest goddess who assisted at the birth, Lumbinī-vana-devatā. The briefly presented survey of the relevant texts attempts to show the increasing role for the Lumbinī grove deity, culminating in chapter 42 of the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra.
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