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Learn About Places Uttar Pradesh > Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh

Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh

Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh

Kushinagar General Information
Kushinagar :: Kushinagar, one of the principal centers of Buddhist pilgrimage is the place of Mahaparinrvana. The monument of Kushinagar are situated in three distincts comprising in the main site of the Nirvana Temple houses over 6meter long statue of the reclining Buddha The image was unearthed during the excavations in 1876. An inscription below dates the statue to the 5th century BC Mathakaur shrine is black stone image of Lord Buddha in the Bhumi Sparsha Mudra (a posture showing him touching the earth ) was recovered here. Ramabhar Stupa rises to a height of 49ft and marks the site where the Lord Buddha was cremated. In ancient Buddhist texts, this stupa has been referred to as Mukut Bandhar Vihar. Kushinagar Museum houses finds from excavations at the site. The credit for bringing this ancient site to light goes to General A. Cunningham and A.C.I. Carlyl, who, after excavating the site in 1861, established its antiquity for the first time. Later, between 1904 and 1912, several excavations conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India at Kushinagar confirmed its identity.

CLIMATE ::

CLIMATE Like other places in the Gangetic plain, the climate of Kushinagar is hot and humid in the summers (mid-April?mid-September) with maximum temperature touching 40?45?C. Winters are mild and minimum temperature in December can go down to around 5?C. Monsoon reaches this region in June and remains here till September.

Facts and Figures

Area
6.00 sq. km.

Altitude
400 meters above sea level.

Season
October-April.

Clothing
Summer - Light cotton.
Winters - Woollen.

Language
Hindi, English

STD Code
01364

Sightseeing

Ramabhar Stupa :: Ramabhar Stupa,About 1 km away, this large stupa rises to a height of 49 ft. It marks the site where the Lord Buddha was cremated. In ancient Buddhist texts this stupa has been referred to as Mukut-Bandhan Vihar

Nirvana Temple :: This houses the over 6 mtrs long statue of reclining Buddha. The image was unearthed during the excavations of 1876. Carved from Chunar sandstone, the statue represents the dying Buddha reclining on his right side. An inscription below dates the statue to the fifth century AD.

Mathakuar Temple :: This shrine lies about 400 yards from the Parinirvana stupa. A black stone image of the Buddha in the bhumi sparsha mudra was recovered here. The last sermon by Lord Buddha was given here.

Kushinagar Museum :: The Buddha Museum contains finds from excavations at the site. Timings : 10:30 am. to 4:30 pm. Weekly off: Monday

Excursions
Gorakhpur :: It is 51 km. At Gorakhpur is the Rahul Sankrtyayan Museum, which has an excellent collection of thanka paintings and relics of the Buddha. Water Sports Complex at Ramgarhtal Planetarium and the Gorakhnath Temple in the city are also well worth a visit.

Lumbini :: Situated in Nepal at a distance of 122 km from Gorakhpur, Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

Travel Information

Air :: The nearest airport is Gorakhpur (44km).

Rail : The nearest rail head or station is Gorakhpur : 51 km, which is the headquarters of North Eastern Railways and linked to important destinations. Gorakhpur is connected directly with Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Barauni.

Road : Situated on National Highway No. 28, Kushinagar is well connected with other parts of the state. Some major road distances are : Gorakhpur-51 km, Lumbini-173 km, Kapilastu-148 km, Sravasti-254 km, Sarnath 266 km. Lalitpur 33 km from Deogarh.

Helpline

Central Bank of India, Kabiya Road, Kushinagar
State Bank of India, Kasia.
Sub Post Office, Main Crossing, Kushinagar.
Community Health Centre, Deoria Road, Kasia.
Govt. Ayurvedic Hospital, Buddha Marg, Kushinagar.

Places of Interest

Mahaparinirvana Temple :: This temple stands on the same plinth as the main Nirvana Stupa behind it. The reclining Nirvana statue of Lord Buddha inside the temple is 6.10 metres long and is made of monolith red - sand stone. It represents the "Dieing - Buddha" reclining on his right side with his face towards the west. It is placed on a large brick-pedestal with stone-posts at the corners. There is an inscription datable to the 5th Century A.D. recording that the statue was "the appropriate religious gift of the Mahavihara Swami Haribala".

Nirvana Chaitya (Main Stupa) :: Nirvana Chaitya is located just behind the Main Parinirvana Temple. It was excavated by Carlleyle in the year 1876. During excavations, a copper-plate was found, which contained the text of the "Nidana-Sutra" which concluded the statement that plate had been deposited in the "Nirvana-Chaitya" by one Haribala, who also installed the great Nirvana Statue of Buddha in the temple front. A copper vessel was also recovered which contained silver coins of Kumar Gupta, an emperor of Gupta Dynasty, 5th Century A.D.

Ramabhar Stupa :: Ramabhar Stupa, also called a Mukutbandhan-Chaitya, is the cremation -place of Buddha. This Site is 1.5 km east of the main Nirvana Temple on the Kushinagar- Deoria road. This Stupa has a huge circular drum with a diameter of 34.14 meters on the top consisting of the two or more terraces and is 47.24 meters in diameter at the base.

Matha Kuar Shrine :: A Colossal statue of Lord Buddha is installed, which is carved out of one block which represents Buddha seated under the "Bodhi Tree" in a pose known as " Bhumi Sparsh Mudra " (Earth touching attitude). The inscription at the base of statue is datable to the 10th or 11th Century A.D.

Meditation Park :: Recently developed near the main Nirvana Temple, this park has artificial water bodies with raised lush-green platforms for meditation surrounded by Sal-trees and other afforestations, representing a complete Buddhist-ambience.

Indo-Japan-Srilanka Temple :: Indo-Japan-Srilanka temple is a marvel of Buddhist architectural grandeur of modern times.

Wat Thai Temple :: It is a huge complex built in a typical Thai-Buddhist architectural fashion.

Museum :: Built by State Government in Buddhist-architectural ambience. Ancient archeological discoveries and antiquities are displayed there. Visiting hours are 10 am to 5 pm (except Mondays).

Ruins & Brick Structures :: These are located around the main Nirvana Temple and Main Stupa. These are the remains of various monasteries of different sizes constructed from time to time in the ancient period.

Others

There are several other nearby temples to be worth seen like Linh Son Chinese Temple, Myan Mar (Burmese) Temple, Birla Hindu Buddha temple, Japanese Stupa, Korean Temple, Shiva temple, Ram Janaki Temple etc.

Pawanagar /Pawapuri(Fazilnagar) :: It is a 'Nirvana' place of Lord Mahavir, 22 kms east of Kushinagar on the National Highway-28. Followers of Jain sect organise a festival here on the next day of Deepawali every year, when Lord Mahavir has attained Salvation. It is also believed that Lord Buddha, while going to Kushinagar from Vaishali, stopped here to accept meals from one of his disciples 'Chund'. Here he ate 'Sukar-Maddav' (Mushrooms) and developed dusentry which caused his death at Kushinagar.

Sun Temple, Turkpatti :: Situated 17 km east of Kushinagar on Kasia - Tamkuhi Road. There are huge and artistic statues of Sun god, made of black stone.They were recovered during excavations one of which is belonged to 4th - 5th Century A.D. and another 8th - 9th Century

Kuber Asthan :: On Padrauna - Turkpatti route, this place has Shiv Temple, established by Kuber as per the saying. Lakhs of Shiv devotees offer Jal on Shivling on the 'Shivratri'.

Devraha Asthan :: 3 kms from Padrauna cantonment, there is a huge ancient mount having three statues of Tirthankar Mahavir, tirthankar Neminath and Vishnu, one of the Trimurti of Hindu Gods. It is believed there stood a large Buddha Stupa also.

Kurukulla Asthan :: It is meditation centre of 'Aadi Shakti' Kurukulla Devi, setup by Nagarjun. It is situated on the river bank in dense forest 8 kms from Kasia - Tamkuhi road.

Sidhua Asthan :: Situated 4 kms from Padrauna - Tamkuhi road, it is famous 'Siddhi', place of gods.

Fairs and Festivel
Buddha Poornima :: Buddha Poornima, which falls on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha (either in April or May), commemorates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Notwithstanding the summer heat (the temperature routinely touches 45 degrees C), pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Poornima celebrations. The day is marked with prayer meets, sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha, religious discourses, continuous recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation, processions, worship of the statue of Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colourful flags and flowers. The Chinese scholar, Fa-Hien has recorded celebration of this festival.It is an important to give a summarized description on the Buddhist festivals in India, especially in the main places of worship. The principal annual ceremony for all the Buddhist is the Vaisaka Purnima known in Sri Lanka as Wesak festival and in India as Buddha Jayanti. Vaisaka Purnima day is fixed by the full-moon day of the month Vaisaka, which falls in May. Like all other Buddhist festivals it falls according to the Lunar year. It was of this day of the year, according to the year.He attained Supreme Enlighten or Buddha hood, beneath the Bodhi-tree at Boddha Gaya. Forty-five years later at the age of eighty, he finally passed away in Parinivana on the same day of the year at Kushinagar. Vaisaka Purnima is celebrated especially in Boddha Gaya, Lumbini and in Kushinara as they are the holy places that were connected with the blessed ones birth, enlighten and the Parinirvana. Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Japan and quite a number of western Buddhists participate 'Vaisaka' Purnima Day religious activities in a festive mood. Sarnath the capital of Buddhism too celebrates Vaisaka Purnima day in a grand way.The great Buddhist festival 'Vaisaka' ,although is an occasion for rejoicing doesn't encourage hectic gaiety and abandon. The happiness that the Buddhists feel when they are celebrating it is a tranquil, peaceful joy. The festival has its gay side as well. In most of the Buddhist countries the villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with color Lanterns, electric lights and colorful decorations.

HOW TO REACH
The nearest airhead is located at Varanasi from where one can take flights to Delhi, Calcutta, Lucknow, and Patna.Kushinagar does not have a railway station. The nearest railway station is at Gorakhpur (51 km), which is the headquarters of Northeastern Railways and linked to important destinations. Some important trains to Gorakhpur are Bombay?Gorakhpur?Bandra Express, New Delhi?Barauni?Vaishali Express, Cochin?Gorakhpur Express, Shaheed Express, Amarnath Express, and Kathgodam Express.