Kushinagar Travel Guide
Travel to Kushinagar - Historic Buddhist Site
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Kushinagar is one of the most important centres of Buddhist pilgrimage, the place where Lord Buddha left his earthly body and entered nirvana, a state of pure consciousness and bliss. The town has several monuments to discover divided into 3 distinct groups and is an important place to include on any itinerary to the region for anyone interested in Buddhism.
The credit for bringing this ancient site to the modern world goes to General A. Cunningham and A.C.I. Carlyle. These British officers excavated the site in 1861 and discovered the amazing history of the place for the first time. Their finds were finally confirmed by the Archaeological Survey of India and the site of Kushinagar was confirmed.
Attractions in Kushinagar
The monuments of Kushinagar are divided into three distinct groups comprising the main site of the Nirvana Temple, central stupa and surrounding monasteries, to the southwest the Mathakuar shrine, and finally the Ramabhar Stupa a kilometre to the east.
The Nirvana Stupa is the huge brickwork stupa exposed by Carlyle in 1876. A copper vessel was unearthed at the site bearing an inscription in ancient Brahmi, which stated that Lord Buddha's remains had been deposited here.
The Nirvana Temple houses the famous 6m long statue of the reclining Buddha. Again the statue, carved from Chunar sandstone, was unearthed during the excavations of 1876. It represents the dying Buddha reclining on his right side in the familiar tradition. An inscription dates the statue to the 5th century AD.
The Mathakuar Shrine lies approximately 400m from the Parinirvana stupa. A black stone image of the Buddha in the bhumisparsha or earth-touching mudra (a mudra is a hand gesture with a specific meaning; in this case it represents the time Buddha was calling the earth to testify he had fulfilled all the requirements to the attainment of enlightenment). Where Sarnath is the location of the first sermon given by Lord Buddha, this is the last.
Some 1km away the Ramabhar Stupa stupa rises to a height of 49ft and marks the site where the Lord Buddha was cremated.
Several temples of different Asian countries including Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese dot the site and can be visited.
Activities in Kushinagar
Allow a half day for a visit – enough time to soak up the peaceful atmosphere and appreciate the temples and stupas.
Relaxing
The site itself is peaceful and the perfect place to relax and reflect on the teachings of Buddha.
Getting Around
Kushinagar is best visited as part of a private tour, either as an inclusion on a wider tour of northern India or on a long day trip from Varanasi (this would not be possible by using public transport).
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