Buddha Purnima the main religious festival of the Buddhist community, observed on Baishakhi purnima , the day of the full moon in Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May). Three important events in the life of Buddha are believed to have occurred on this day: his birth in 623 BC, his gaining enlightenment in 588 BC, and his death in 543 BC.
According to Buddhist tradition, Buddha, after his previous incarnation as Santos Kumar, was living in paradise. He was asked by the gods to take rebirth as a human being for the salvation of the world and to show human beings as well as the gods the road to bliss. He considered the gods' request and, on the day of the full moon in Asadh (mid-June-mid-July), he entered his mother's womb through a dream. He was born on the following auspicious Baisakhi purnima
Gautam Buddha was born as a prince in 544 BC in Lumbini, Nepal on a Full Moon day in the month of Vaisakh. When he was born it was predicted that the child would redeem the world. Even as a young prince he was touched by the  pain and sickness of others. Later he renounced the world and became an ascetic. At the age of 35, he attained enlightenment on the full moon day of Vaisakh. He traveled far and wide preaching the truth and gained a large following consisting of scholars, sanyasis, rulers of states and others, thus forming the Buddhist community.
Besides Sarnath, the Buddha Purnima is also celebrated with religious fervor at Gaya and Kushinagar and other parts of India and the world. The Buddha Purnima celebrations at Sarnath attract large Buddhist crowds as Buddhists offer prayers in different Buddhist temples at Sarnath on this day. Prayers, sermons, recitation of Buddhist scriptures are other important religious activities performed by the Buddhists at Sarnath. Monks and devotees meditate and worship the statue of Gautam Buddha. The Buddhist devotees also offer fruits, flowers, candles etc to statues of Lord Buddha.
Though Buddhism originated in India and the religion has gained tremendous popularity throughout the Far East in Asia, there are very few practising Buddhists in the country. The number of Buddhists in the world ranges "from less than two hundred million, to more than five hundred million, with the lower number closer to reality."

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