Kushinagar Stupa - The Sacred Pilgrimage of Buddhists

Hello guys, I hope you all are doing well. Today I am going to tell you about one of the most holy place for Buddhists, the Kushinagar Stupa. This is the place where Lord Buddha took his last breath and attained Mahaparinirvana. In this blog I will cover its history, architecture, the huge reclining Buddha statue and other places you can visit in Kushinagar. I will also tell you how to reach there and what is the best time to go. So let’s get started.

What is Kushinagar Stupa?

Kushinagar Stupa is also known as the Mahaparinirvana Stupa, Parinirvana Stupa or Nirvana Chaitya. It is a big brick stupa in Kushinagar, a small town in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, not very far from the Bihar border. The stupa stands just behind the Mahaparinirvana Temple, and inside this temple there is a huge statue of Lord Buddha lying on his right side. As per Wikipedia, this is the place where Gautama Buddha passed away.

Now you might be thinking what is Mahaparinirvana? In simple words, it means the final freedom from the cycle of birth and death. Buddhists believe that after this, Buddha was free forever and never took birth again. That’s why this small town is so important for them.

In ancient time, Kushinagar was called Kusinara. British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham said the town got its name because of kusha grass, which grows a lot in this region, as you can read on Wikipedia. I really like these small facts, they make history more fun to read.

Quick Facts About Kushinagar Stupa

Before going in detail, here is a quick table so you can get the basic idea.

Fact	Details
Other names	Mahaparinirvana Stupa, Parinirvana Stupa, Nirvana Chaitya
Location	Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Famous for	Place where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana
Early history	Emperor Ashoka built stupas here in 3rd century BCE
Main attraction	6.1 m (20 feet) long Reclining Buddha statue
Statue material	Single block of red sandstone, 5th century CE
Excavated	1876, by A.C.L. Carlleyle
Present temple	Built in 1956 by the Government of India
Distance from Gorakhpur	Around 50 to 55 km
Best time to visit	October to March

History of Kushinagar Stupa

The history of this place is very long, so I will try to tell you in short and simple way.

Buddha’s Last Days in Kusinara

When Lord Buddha was 80 years old, he started his last long journey with his disciples. As per the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, he walked from Rajgir through Pataliputta (today’s Patna), Vaishali and Pava. At Pava, a man named Cunda served him a meal and after that Buddha became very sick.

Even in this condition he kept walking and reached Kusinara. Here he asked his disciple Ananda to prepare a bed between two sal trees, with the head towards north. Then he lay down on his right side, which is the same pose you see in the famous statue today. His last words, as quoted on this UBC page on Buddhist sites, were that everything made in this world will decay one day, so keep trying hard without stopping.

As per the Gorakhpur district website, Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana here in 483 BC, but some sources give little different date like 487 BCE. Honestly, I really respect that even at the age of 80 and in so much pain, he was teaching people till his last day.

What Happened to Buddha’s Ashes

Seven days later, Buddha’s body was cremated here. After that, many kings and clans started demanding his ashes. To solve this fight, a Brahmin named Drona divided the ashes into eight parts, and one part went to the Malla king of Kushinagar itself, as per Wikipedia. Each group then kept their share in a stupa. If you ask me, this was a very smart decision because it stopped a big war.

Ashoka and the Golden Age of Guptas

Around 260 BCE, the great Mauryan Emperor Ashoka came to Kushinagar. He built stupas here and also put a pillar to mark the place where Buddha attained parinirvana. Later, during the Kushan period (around 50 to 241 CE), more buildings were added here.

But the real golden time came during the Gupta Empire (around 320 to 647 CE). In this time the stupa was made much bigger and the temple was rebuilt with the huge Reclining Buddha statue, as you can read on Wikipedia. So the statue you see today is around 1,500 years old.

Lost and Found Again

After that, slowly this place lost its importance. Around 1200 CE, Buddhist monks left the site because of invasions, and after that everything got buried under mounds of earth. Fun fact guys, when a man named D. Liston wrote about these ruins in 1837, he thought it was the fort of a powerful deity called Mata Koonr!

Then in 1861–62, British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham dug at Matha Kuar and Ramabhar. He was the first person to identify these ruins as the place of Buddha’s parinirvana. In 1876, his colleague Archibald Carlleyle uncovered the main stupa and found the Reclining Buddha statue. But the statue was broken into countless pieces! It was joined back and restored in March 1877, and the Archaeological Survey of India also repaired the temple and put a roof on it.

After that, a Burmese monk named Chandramani made the shrine a living place of worship again in 1903, as Gaurav Tiwari, who is from Kushinagar, writes in his guide. In 1927, two devotees from Myanmar, U Po Kyu and U Po Hlaing, gave donations to restore the stupa. And finally in 1956, the Government of India built the present temple to mark 2,500 years of Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana.

Architecture of Kushinagar Stupa

Now let’s talk about the architecture part, which I personally like the most.

The Main Stupa (Nirvana Chaitya)

The main stupa is a big brick dome, and it stands just behind the Mahaparinirvana Temple. It is believed to be built over the exact spot where Buddha attained nirvana between the two sal trees. Like most old stupas, different rulers made it bigger again and again over many centuries.

During the excavations, a copper plate was found here. This plate had the text of the Nidana Sutra on it, and it also said that a man named Haribala placed the plate in the Nirvana Chaitya. The same Haribala also installed the Reclining Buddha statue in the temple, as per Wikipedia. I think it is really cool that one small copper plate told us who put the statue there.

The Mahaparinirvana Temple

The present temple is a simple white building made to keep the big statue. It was built in 1956, but it stands on top of the ruins of a much older Buddhist vihara. All around the temple you can see old brick ruins of monasteries and small votive stupas, made in different periods.

One more interesting thing for architecture lovers. Alexander Cunningham noted that the old temple here had a vaulted (arched) chamber for the statue, and the Chinese traveller Xuanzang saw this statue in 637 AD. So as per Cunningham, Indians knew how to build arches at that time also (Wikipedia). The temple even appears in a 14th century history book called Jami’ al-tawarikh.

The Reclining Buddha Statue

This is the real star of Kushinagar. The statue is 6.1 meters (around 20 feet) long and it is carved from a single block of red sandstone in the 5th century CE. Buddha is lying on his right side with his head towards north, feet towards south and face towards west. It is placed on a big brick platform with stone posts at the corners.

Pilgrims from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries cover the statue with long yellow robes and sheets as an offering. Honestly, even in photos the face looks so calm, like Buddha is just sleeping peacefully.

Why Kushinagar is So Special for Buddhists

There are four main pilgrimage places in Buddhism, and each one is connected with a big moment of Buddha’s life. Here is a simple table:

Place	What happened there
Lumbini (Nepal)	Buddha was born
Bodh Gaya (Bihar)	Buddha got enlightenment
Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)	Buddha gave his first sermon
Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh)	Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana

So Kushinagar is the last stop of Buddha’s life journey. That’s why monks and pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and many other countries come here, mostly in the winter season.

The biggest festival here is Buddha Purnima, which comes on the full moon day of Vaishakha month, usually in May. As per Britannica, this festival remembers Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, all three together. On this day Kushinagar gets the biggest crowd of the whole year. If you want to see the town full of life, go on Buddha Purnima, but be ready for the heat.

Other Places to See in Kushinagar

Apart from the main stupa and temple, there are some more places which you should not miss. The good thing is that most of them are close to each other, so you can easily cover them in one day.

Ramabhar Stupa

This is the place where Lord Buddha’s body was cremated. It is also called Mukutbandhan Chaitya. Ramabhar is a huge brick stupa, around 15 meters tall, and it is about 1.5 km east of the Mahaparinirvana Temple on the Kushinagar–Deoria road. Around it you can also see small votive stupas and ruins of old viharas. Devotees do parikrama (walk around) of the stupa and pray here. I think this place is more peaceful then the main temple because it has less crowd.

Matha Kuar Shrine

It is believed that Buddha gave his last sermon at this spot. The shrine has a 3 meter tall statue of Buddha sitting in Bhumisparsha Mudra, which means the earth touching pose. The statue is carved from one single block of blue stone from Gaya, and the writing at its base is from the 10th or 11th century CE. It was found in 1876, and in 1927 Burmese pilgrims built the small shrine to protect it. It is a small and quick visit, so I will suggest you to not skip it.

Temples from Different Countries

This is honestly my favourite part of Kushinagar. Buddhist communities from many countries have built their own temples here, and each one is made in their own country’s style. You will find the Wat Thai Temple from Thailand, a golden Burmese pagoda, the Indo-Japan-Sri Lanka Temple and a Vietnamese temple. The Gorakhpur district website also lists Chinese, Korean and Tibetan temples here. For an architecture lover like me, seeing so many styles in one small town is a real treat.

Museum and Meditation Park

There is also a Buddha Museum which keeps old sculptures and other things found during the excavations. Next to it there is a 15 acre meditation park, which is a good place to relax for some time after walking around.

How to Reach Kushinagar and Best Time to Visit

Reaching Kushinagar is not very difficult, but there is one important thing about the airport which you should know first.

By Air: The best option is Gorakhpur Airport, which is around 50 to 55 km away. From there you can take a taxi and reach in about 1.5 hours. Kushinagar also has its own international airport, which PM Narendra Modi inaugurated on 20 October 2021. But sadly it has been closed for regular flights since 2023, as per Wikipedia, so please don’t plan your trip on it without checking.
By Train: Gorakhpur Junction is the best railway station because it is connected with many big cities of India. Deoria Sadar station is closer, around 33 to 35 km, but it has less trains.
By Road: Taxis and buses from Gorakhpur are easily available. By bus it takes around 2 hours, as per Wikivoyage.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Kushinagar is from October to March. In these months the weather is pleasant and you can walk around all the sites easily. April to June is very hot, and in the monsoon season this area has risk of floods, as local blogger Gaurav Tiwari also warns. So if you ask me, winter is the perfect time to plan your trip.

Some Simple Tips for Visitors

Remove your shoes before going inside any shrine.
Wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees.
Keep silence inside the Mahaparinirvana Temple.
Walk around the stupas in clockwise direction only.
Photography rules are different in each place, so read the board at the gate first.

FAQs

Why is Kushinagar Stupa famous?

Kushinagar Stupa is famous because it marks the place where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. That’s why Kushinagar is one of the four most important pilgrimage places for Buddhists.

How long is the Reclining Buddha statue in Kushinagar?

The Reclining Buddha statue is 6.1 meters (around 20 feet) long. It is made from a single block of red sandstone in the 5th century CE.

Who built the Kushinagar Stupa?

Emperor Ashoka built stupas here in the 3rd century BCE. Later the Gupta rulers made the stupa much bigger, and the present temple in front of it was built by the Government of India in 1956.

Where was Lord Buddha cremated?

Lord Buddha was cremated at the place where Ramabhar Stupa stands today. It is about 1.5 km east of the Mahaparinirvana Temple.

What is the best time to visit Kushinagar Stupa?

The best time to visit Kushinagar Stupa is from October to March, when the weather is cool and pleasant.

Final Words

So guys, this was all about Kushinagar Stupa, the place where Lord Buddha took his last breath. I have tried to cover its history, architecture, the Reclining Buddha statue and other places to see in Kushinagar in simple words. As it is said that every journey has an end, and Buddha’s journey also ended here with peace. If you ever get the chance, do visit this place at least once in life. Keep visiting The Indian Architecture for more such interesting blogs.

Kushinagar Stupa – The Sacred Pilgrimage of Buddhists