Kushinagar, one of the principal centre of Buddhist pilgrimage, is the place where Lord Buddha left his corporeal self and attained Mahaparinirvana.

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.

The monuments of Kushinagar are situated in three distinct groups comprising the main site of the Nirvana Temple, the central stupa and surrounding monasteries, the Mathakuar shrine to the southwest, and the Ramabhar Stupa a kilometer to the east.

Places of Interest

Nirvana Stupa
This huge brickwork stupa, exposed by Carlyl in 1876, stands at a height of 2.74 mtr. A copper vessel was unearthed at this site. It bore an inscription in ancient Brahmi, which stated that Lord Buddha's remains had been deposited here.

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 Shrine
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.

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.

Chinese Temple
Here the special attraction is a beautiful statue of Lord Buddha.

Japanese Temple
A beautiful Ashta Dhatu (eight metals) statue of Lord Buddha which came from Japan can be seen here.

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

Other places of interest include Pawanagar (Fazilnagar) and the Sun Temple at Turkpatti.