{"id":"ram-bahadur-bomjon","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/ram-bahadur-bomjon","language":"en","name":"Ram Bahadur Bomjon","name_en":"Ram Bahadur Bomjon","name_ne":"रामबहादुर बम्जन","description":"Nepalese religious cult leader","headline":"Nepalese religious cult leader","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Sanskrit: राम बहादुर बम्जन; born 1989 or 1990, sometimes spelled Bomjan, Banjan, or Bamjan), previously known as Palden Dorje (his monastic name) is an ascetic from Ratanapuri, Bara district, Nepal who gained widespread attention and media popularity because of a perceived resemblance to Gautama Buddha, leading to claims that he is a reincarnation of Gautama Buddha.","summary_more":["Bomjon's followers have claimed that he meditates for months without eating or sleeping. Buddhist scholars have disputed these claims.","In June 2024, Bomjon was convicted on charges of child sexual abuse. In April 2025, he was acquitted by the Janakpur High Court, which overturned the earlier conviction because the case had been filed after the statute of limitations."],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"9 April 1990","date":"1990-04-09"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Ratnapuri","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6650785","page":"https://diginpl.com/places/ratnapuri-nepal"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055#P19"}},{"key":"citizenship","label":"Citizenship","values":[{"text":"Nepal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q837"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055#P27"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"Buddhist monk","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q854997"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055#P106"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[{"id":"career","title":"Career","items":[{"text":"In May 2005, the 15-year-old Bomjon left his home near the Indian border after a dream in which a god appeared to him and told him to do so, and sat amongst the roots of a pipal tree to meditate.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.gq.com/story/ram-bornjon-miracle-meditating","title":"The Incredible Buddha Boy","publisher":"GQ","date":"7 May 2006"}]},{"text":"Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people visited the site to see the boy motionless for hours, days or as rumoured even months, or came in devotion to the possibility of an important spiritual event occurring.","sources":[{"url":"https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4824530.stm","title":"Nepalese Buddha Boy 'reappears'","publisher":"BBC","date":"20 March 2006"}]},{"text":"As a result of some of these claims, Bomjon's followers believe he is an incarnation of the historical Buddha, Gautama.","sources":[{"url":"https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4824530.stm","title":"Nepalese Buddha Boy 'reappears'","publisher":"BBC","date":"20 March 2006"}]},{"text":"He does not have Buddha's qualities\".","sources":[{"url":"https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081122/wl_sthasia_afp/nepalreligionbuddhism","title":"Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle","publisher":"Yahoo! News","date":"2008-11-22"}]},{"text":"Buddhist scholars have been sceptical of Bomjon's claims to be able to meditate for months on end without food or drink.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.dw.com/en/nepal-convicts-buddha-boy-of-child-sexual-abuse/a-69473401","title":"Nepal convicts 'Buddha Boy' of child sexual abuse","publisher":"Deutsche Welle","date":"2024-06-25"}]},{"text":"On 11 March 2006, he went missing.","sources":[{"url":"https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4797064.stm","title":"Nepal's 'Buddha' boy goes missing","publisher":"BBC","date":"11 March 2006"}]}]},{"id":"statements","title":"Notable statements","items":[{"text":"I am at the level of a rinpoche.\" Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, the president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, has stated likewise: \"We do not believe he is Buddha.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/1503549/Pilgrims-flock-to-see-Buddha-boy-said-to-have-fasted-six-months.html","title":"Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months","publisher":"The Telegraph","date":"21 November 2005"}]}]}],"cited_from":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon&oldid=1382047214","videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon","https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%A8","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Ram Bahadur Bomjon born?","a":"Ram Bahadur Bomjon was born on 9 April 1990 in Ratnapuri."}],"related":[{"name":"Tenzing Norgay","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/tenzing-norgay"},{"name":"Suman Pokhrel","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/suman-pokhrel"},{"name":"Manisha Koirala","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/manisha-koirala"},{"name":"Gyanendra of Nepal","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/gyanendra-of-nepal"},{"name":"Birendra of Nepal","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal"},{"name":"Nirmal Purja","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/nirmal-purja"},{"name":"Dipendra of Nepal","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/dipendra-of-nepal"},{"name":"Udit Narayan","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/udit-narayan"},{"name":"Śuddhodana","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/suddhodana"},{"name":"Mahendra of Nepal","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/mahendra-of-nepal"},{"name":"Chandra Bahadur Dangi","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/chandra-bahadur-dangi"},{"name":"B. P. Koirala","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/b-p-koirala"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":null,"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Ram Bahadur Bomjon","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikipedia (Nepali): रामबहादुर बम्जन","url":"https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%A8","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q560055","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560055","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Wikipedia (English), revision used for cited facts: Ram Bahadur Bomjon","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon&oldid=1382047214","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"GQ: The Incredible Buddha Boy (7 May 2006)","url":"https://www.gq.com/story/ram-bornjon-miracle-meditating","license":null},{"label":"BBC: Nepalese Buddha Boy 'reappears' (20 March 2006)","url":"https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4824530.stm","license":null},{"label":"Yahoo! News: Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle (2008-11-22)","url":"https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081122/wl_sthasia_afp/nepalreligionbuddhism","license":null},{"label":"Deutsche Welle: Nepal convicts 'Buddha Boy' of child sexual abuse (2024-06-25)","url":"https://www.dw.com/en/nepal-convicts-buddha-boy-of-child-sexual-abuse/a-69473401","license":null},{"label":"BBC: Nepal's 'Buddha' boy goes missing (11 March 2006)","url":"https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4797064.stm","license":null},{"label":"The Telegraph: Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months (21 November 2005)","url":"https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/1503549/Pilgrims-flock-to-see-Buddha-boy-said-to-have-fasted-six-months.html","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Ram Bahadur Bomjon, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0).","cite":"\"Ram Bahadur Bomjon\". DigiNepal. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/ram-bahadur-bomjon. Retrieved 8 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-11-04T06:41:58Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-07","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/ram-bahadur-bomjon","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/ram-bahadur-bomjon","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/ram-bahadur-bomjon?lang=ne"}}