The festival to be held from 19 February to 21 March has been organised in Kathmandu and other major cities of the country.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly inaugurated the event at a function on Tuesday.

The festival began with dance and drama of Lord Buddha. The festival comprises oratory contest, Sanskrit conference, dance and other cultural programmes.

In his brief remarks following the inauguration, Indian Ambassador Puri said Buddhism has been established as a major religion in the both the countries as Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal and attained enlightenment in India.