Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the 'International Buddha Poornima Diwas celebrations', which is to be held in the national capital today.
A special prayer will also be offered on the occasion to express solidarity with the people of quake-hit Nepal which is the birth place of Buddha.
Buddha's birthday or Vesak Day (or Wesak) is celebrated on various dates in spring throughout the world and each Buddhist culture has its own traditions for the day. It is usually observed during the first full moon in the month of May.
Buddhists celebrate Buddha's three most important life stages on Vesak: birth, enlightenment and death, which traditionally are said to have happened on the same day.
The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal, to be Buddha's birthplace.
