Kushinagar

History

District tourism records that excavations under A.C.L. Carlleyle in 1876–77 yielded the main Mahanirvana Stupa remains and the reclining Buddha statue — a monolithic sandstone image about 6.1 m long, resting on the right side with the face toward the west. An inscription ascribes the statue as a religious gift from Haribal; further finds in 1910 included coins and inscribed copper material.

The temple and stupa assumed much of their present form around the 2500th Buddha Jayanti commemorations in 1956. Pilgrims also visit Matha Kuar shrine and Ramabhar (cremation-related) stupa, while monastic temples built by Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries form a modern international layer around the ancient core.

Stories

Where the Buddha Passed Away

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha, in his eightieth year, travelled to Kushinagar after a meal at Pava made him ill. There, in a grove of sala trees, he lay down on his right side and attained parinirvana.

The text says his body was cremated seven days later and his ashes divided into eight portions among clans and kings, including the Mallas of Kushinagar. Kushinagar is therefore among the most sacred sites of Buddhism.

Rediscovered by Cunningham and Carlleyle

Evidence suggests Kushinagar was a pilgrimage site as early as the third century BCE, when Ashoka is said to have built a stupa there. It later decayed, and Alexander Cunningham identified the ruins as the site of the parinirvana during excavations in 1861 and 1862.

In 1876 Archibald Carlleyle uncovered the Mahaparinirvana stupa and a reclining Buddha statue, about 6.1 metres long. A copper plate found in the stupa records that one Haribala deposited it there and also installed the statue.

A Statue Carved From One Block

The reclining Buddha in the Parinirvana Temple is carved from a single block of red sandstone and measures 6.1 metres. It shows the Buddha lying on his right side, head to the north and face turned west, resting on a large brick platform.

A short distance east, about 1.5 km, stands the Ramabhar Stupa, regarded as the Buddha's cremation place. Monasteries built by Buddhist countries, such as Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka, now form a modern layer around the ancient core.

Good to know

Mahaparinirvana Temple with ~6.1 m reclining Buddha (district tourism)

Mahanirvana Stupa excavated in the 1870s; present form linked to 1956 Buddha Jayanti

Ramabhar Stupa and international monasteries on the same circuit

Getting there

Air: Kushinagar Airport (seasonal/international links) or Gorakhpur (~53 km per district note for nearby temples). Rail: Deoria Sadar (~35 km) or Gorakhpur Junction. Road: regular buses/taxis from Gorakhpur and Deoria.