We started at about 6 in the morning from Darbhanga and after one hour, we have covered 12 long kilometers. We were on a six lane East-West Corridor which was being done and I don’t need to remind fellow ghumakkars that protests and road-blocks happen in my home state, Bihar. Car cabin atmosphere was still very peppy because half of the crew was seasoned and rest of them were oblivious. I moved to 13th KM and was hoping that I reach Kushinagar in time, a brief stop we planned before we spend the night at Gorakhpur.
It was late afternoon, when I got close to the holy city and the hope of meeting Gorakhpur before it gets dark, ensured that we spend the limited time in Kushinagar without any undue haste. The city is right on East-West Corridor, the ambitious road project which would connect Silchar in East to Probandar in West, and as you get close you would see a large statue of Lord Buddha, acting like a gate.
Kushinagar is situated in Uttar Pradesh and is very close to the popular border city of Gorakhpur. It’s one of the four holy places on the Buddhist Circuit and is the place where Mahatma Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. He was cremated here.
Dharma Bell
In the summer of 2003, I accidentally found myself in Kushinagar. A close friend who belongs to Gorakhpur was getting married and on one of the evenings, when we asked around for an appropriate activity to kill the hot afternoon, we were suggested to visit Kushinagar. We did and we just could not understand that how on earth a place so sacred is devoid of populace. On that trip, a group of four boys walked and walked and wondered and wondered. I even made a small album with captions and later I scanned those photos but later I could not find them. so after five years, I was again at the same place, though it was now Monsoons and I could see lots of people there.
” Now, O Brothers ! I do remind you, all component things are subject to decay. Work for your salvation in the earnest”.
Dharma Bell
This is the last sermon which Buddha preached, in 543 BC at Kushinagar. It is said that on the day of ‘Magh Purnima’, he was at Vaishali and he decided to take Mahanirvana in Kushinagar. When he died, the then kingdom of ‘Mallas’ constructed a big stupa. Later, Ashoka renovated it. I read somewhere that the Chinese travelers Fa Hien & Hieun Tsang have mentioned “Kushinara” in their Travel Memo. Kushinara continued to be living-city till the 12th century A.D. & was thereafter lost into oblivion. After extensive excavations main stupa was exposed in 1876 AD. In addition a 6.10 m long statue of reclining Buddha was discovered. Ven. Chandra Swami a Burmeese Monk, came to India in 1903 and made Mahaparinivana Temple into a living shrine.
Kushinagar is also referred as the land of Kusa, son of Rama. Ayodhya is not far away so this looks logical.
After maneuvering the road side shops, we parked our car just outside the main stupa. The structure is now under ‘Archaeological Survey Of India’ and I could see that lot of good development has happened over last five years.
Entry to the Sacred Stupa, now under ASI
There are large lawns, separated by clean and tidy pathways, flanked with bushes. You can see the remains of old structures which were excavated in 19th century.
Nice hair-cut
Excavation Details
The main stupa is not entirely visible from the entrance, you take a circuited route, passing the bell. It was late afternoon and there were not too many people. It stands atop a height and looks very modern. I do not remember this from my last visit and this could be a result of some recent renovation.
The main stupa
As you enter the main stupa, you see Lord Buddha taking rest. This statue was also discovered during excavations. Its a large high roof hall with nothing much except the large image which you look at and feel blessed.
Lord Buddha
The actual cremation ground is a bit away and I didn’t go there this time. The area has lots of temples built by many countries which practice Buddhism. There are good hotels as well, including Taj and I clearly remember that there were internet kiosks five year back.
We wanted to be in Gorakhpur so we rushed out , we did go to one more monastery though. Doing Sarnath and Kushinagar was not planned and I happened to be there, may be it was destined that way. And this finishes my long drive to east. Hope you enjoyed it.