About The City

     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.

Area : 6.00 sq. km.

Population : 13860 (1991 census)

Altitude : 400 mtrs above sea level

Season : October-April

Clothing : Summer - Light cotton; Winters - Woollen

Language : Hindi, English

Local Transport : Cycle-rickshaw

STD Code : 05563

Accessibility

Rail

     Nearest railway station is Gorakhpur : 51 km, which is the headquarters of North Eastern Railways and linked to important destinations. Some important trains to Gorakhpur are Bombay-Gorakhpur-Bandra Exp., New Delhi-Barauni-Vaishali Exp. Cochin-Gorakhpur Exp., Shaheed Exp, Amarnath Exp, Kathgodam Exp, (Kushinagar does not has a Railway Station, one has to go to Gorakhpur from where Kushinagar can be reached by road.

Road

     Situated on National Highway No. 28, with frequent bus services, 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.

Place 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.

     Pathik Niwas (UPSTDC), Kushinagar. Ph: (05563)27138

     Only local eateries are available other than the restaurants at above mentioned hotels.

Gorakhpur

     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. Buses ply till the border from where the remaining 26 km has to be covered by private vehicles