Kushinagar or Kusinagar (26.45 N,83.24E)is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kushinagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha died. Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... Location of Mirzapur and the 82. ... The divisions of a district. ... Kushinagar District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattles Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous... The Panchayat (पंचायत in Devanagiri) is an Indian political system that groups five villages in a quincunx (four peripheral villages around a central one were laid out as the 5 side of a die). ... Kushinagar District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. ... India is subdivided into twenty-eight states and seven union territories; the states and territories are themselves further subdivided. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...

Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Kushinagar had a population of 17,982. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Kushinagar has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 54%. In Kushinagar, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattles Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous... 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Ancient history

In ancient times, it was known as Kushavati (Jatakas). Kushinagar was a celebrated center of the Malla kingdom of ancient India. Later, it would be known as Kushinara, one of the most important four holy sites for Buddhists. At this location, near the Hiranyavati River, Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana (or 'Final Nirvana') after falling ill from eating a meal of a species of mushroom which translates as "pig's delight". Malla was a tribe of eastern ancient India. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit -- Pali: Parinibbana -- Chinese: 般涅槃; Pinyin: bō niè pán) is the final nirvana, traditionally understood to be within reach only upon the death of someone who attained complete enlightenment. ...

Many of the ruined stupas and viharas here date back to 3rd century BCE - 5th century CE when prosperity was at its peak. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka is known to have contributed to significant construction at this site. Stupa at Samye Ling Monastery, Scotland A stupa (from the Sanskrit) is a type of Buddhist structure found across the Indian subcontinent, Asia and increasingly in the Western World. ... Vihara at Kanheri Caves Wall carvings Vihara is an Indian Buddhist monastery. ... (4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Great Wall of China begun Indian traders regularly visited Arabia Scythians occupy... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 - 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Chandragupta Maurya (ruled 322–298 BC), known to the Greeks as Sandracottus, was the first emperor of the Mauryan empire. ... Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: अशोक(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BC–232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in...

Prior to its rediscovery in the 19th century, there was a silence of more than half a millennium at Kasia. Due to violent invasions, Kushinagar lost its vitality and eventually was neglected. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Visits by Buddha to Kushinagar

Makutabandhana, the cremation-site of Gautama Buddha's body

At the time of the Buddha, Kushinagar was the capital of the Mallas, and the scene of the Buddha's death. It was twenty-five yojanas from Rajagaha (DA.ii.609; acc. to Fa Hsien, p.40, it was twenty-four yojanas from Kapilavatthu) and lay on the high road from Alaka to Rájagaha, the road taken by Bávarí's disciples (SN.v.1012). At that time it was a small city, "a branch-township with wattle-and-daub houses in the midst of the jungle," and Ananda was, at first, disappointed that the Buddha should have chosen it for his Parinibbana. But the Buddha, by preaching the Maha-Sudassana Sutta, pointed out to him that in ancient times it had been Kusavati, the royal city of Maha-Sudassana (D.ii.146). Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 500 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 1563 pixel, file size: 632 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kushinagar Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 500 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 1563 pixel, file size: 632 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kushinagar Metadata This file contains additional... Malla was a tribe of eastern ancient India. ... Å–Å…A yojana is a Vedic measure of distance, possibly somewhere from 5. ... Rajgir is an ancient town, and has reference in Mahabharata,Buddhist and Jain texts. ... Kapilavastu is the name of an ancient city in Terai of Nepal, and is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. ... In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: Parinibbana) is the final nirvana, traditionally understood to be within reach only upon the death of someone who attained complete enlightenment. ...

It is said that the Buddha had three reasons for coming to Kusinárá to die:

1. Because it was the proper venue for the preaching of the Mahá-Sudassana Sutta;
2. Because Subhadda would visit him there and, after listening to his sermon, would develop meditation and become an arahant while the Buddha was still alive; and
3. Because the brahman Doha would be there, after the Buddha's death, to solve the problem of the distribution of his relics (UdA.402f; DA.ii.573f6).

Between Kusinara and Pava, three gavutas away (DA.ii.573) - from where the Buddha came to Kusinára on his last journey from Rajagaha, stopping at various places - lay the stream of Kakuttha on the banks of which was the Ambavana; beyond that was the Hiraññavati river, and near the city, in a south-westerly direction, lay the Upavattana, the Sala-grove of the Mallas, which the Buddha made his last resting-place (UdA.238; DA.ii.572f). Doha (Arabic: ‎, translit: or ), population 400,051 (2005 census), is the capital of Qatar and is at , on the Persian Gulf. ... Pawapuri in Bihar is a holy site for Jains, located 38 kilometers from Rajgir and 90 kilometers from Patna, India. ... Rajgir is an ancient town, and has reference in Mahabharata,Buddhist and Jain texts. ...

After the Buddha's death his body was carried into the city by the northern gate and out of the city by the eastern gate; to the east of the city was Makutabandhana, the shrine of the Mallas, and there the body was cremated. For seven days those assembled at the ceremony held a festival in honour of the relics (D.ii.160f).

Pilgrimage to Buddha's Holy Sites
The Four Main Sites
Lumbini · Bodh Gaya Sarnath · Kushinagar
Four Additional Sites
Sravasti · Rajgir Sankissa · Vaishali
Other Sites
Patna · Gaya  Kausambi · Mathura Kapilavastu · Devadaha Kesariya · Pava Nalanda · Varanasi
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As the scene of his death, Kusinara became one of the four holy places declared by the Buddha to be fit places of pilgrimage for the pious, the other three being Kapilavatthu, Buddhagaya and Isipatana (D.ii.140). The most important places of pilgrimage in Buddhism are located in Northern India and Southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Calcutta. ... Image File history File links Dharma_wheel. ... Lumbini (Sanskrit for the lovely) is a Buddhist pilgrimage site located in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Zone of Nepal near the Indian border. ... Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya(24° 41 60N, 84° 58 60E) is a city in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. ... Sarnath (formerly also Mrigadava, Rishipattana, Isipatana), located 13 kilometres from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded. ... SrāvastÄ« or SāvatthÄ« (Chinese: 舍衛), a city of ancient India, was one of the largest cities during Gautama Buddha’s lifetime. ... Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. ... Sankassa (also Sankasia, Sankissa and Sankassya) was a city in India at the time of Gautama Buddha, thirty leagues from Savatthi[1]. Currently it has ruins of old monasteries and Buddhist monuments. ... Vaishali or Vesali (Pali) was a city, the capital of the Licchavis and the Vajjian Confederacy. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gaya was a confederacy of chiefdoms that existed in the Nakdong River valley of Korea during the Three Kingdoms era. ... Kosambi (Pali) or Kausambi (Sanskrit) was one of the greatest cities in India in the Buddhas time (500 BC). ... Mathura   (Hindi: मथुरा, Urdu: متھرا) is a holy city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, located approximately 50 km north of Agra, and 150 km south of Delhi. ... Kapilvastu, formerly Taulihawa (or, Kapilbastu Kapilvastu District or Tilaurakot), aprox. ... Devadaha was a township of the Sākiyans. ... Kesariya is a small city in Bihar, India. ... Pawapuri in Bihar is a holy site for Jains, located 38 kilometers from Rajgir and 90 kilometers from Patna, India. ... A view of the ruins of Nalanda University In the extreme rear is visible stucco (lime plaster fresco) wall art from the Gupta period. ... VārāṇasÄ«   (Hindi: , IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (Hindi: , , IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi (Hindi: , ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Kapilavastu is the name of an ancient city in Terai of Nepal, and is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. ... Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya(24° 41 60N, 84° 58 60E) is a city in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. ... The Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath This article is about a place in India. ...

Mention is made of other visits paid to Kusinárá by the Buddha, prior to that when his death took place. Thus, once he went there from Ápana and having spent some time at Kusinárá, proceeded to Átumá. The Mallas of Kusinárá were always great admirers of the Buddha, even though not all of them were his followers, and on the occasion of this visit they decided that any inhabitant of Kusinárá who failed to go and meet the Buddha and escort him to the city, would be fined five hundred. It was on this occasion that Roja the Mallan was converted and gave to the Buddha and the monks a supply of green vegetables and pastries (Vin.i.247f). During some of these visits the Buddha stayed in a wood called Baliharana, and there he preached two of the Kusinárá Suttas (A.i.274f; v.79f) and the "Kinti" Sutta (M.ii.238f). A third Kusinárá Sutta he preached while staying at Upavattana. (A.ii.79; for another discourse to some noisy monks at Upavattana, see Ud.iv.2).

According to a late tradition, one-eighth of the Buddha's relics were deposited in a cairn in Kusinárá and honoured by the Mallas (D.ii.167; Bu.xxviii.3).

In Hiouen Thsang's day there still existed towers and Sarighárámas erected to mark the spots connected with the Buddha's last days and obsequies at Kusinárá. According to his account (Beal. op. cit.li. lii. n) Kusinárá was nineteen yojanas from Vesáli. A copper plate belonging to the thúpa erected at the site of the Buddha's death has recently been discovered (CAGI.i.714).

Rediscovery

The Parinirvana Temple with the Parinirvana Stupa, Kushinagar

The remains of the Parinirvana Stupa and Parinirvana Temple, when rediscovered, were covered in a 40 foot high mound of bricks surrounded by a dense thorny forest. After E. Buchanan, an officer of the East India Company, arrived in Kasia in the course of his survey-work, H. H. Wilson, in 1854, made the suggestion that ancient Kushinagar and Kasia were the same. Work resumed around 1861-1862 when General Alexander Cunningham, an archaeological surveyor, would prove the site to be that of Gautama Buddha's passing. A British officer named Mr. A.C.L. Carlleyle followed suit. Excavations began in the late 1800s and many important remnants of the main site such as the Matha Kuar and Ramabhar stupa were unveiled. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1805 - 1815). ...

Today

Today, Kushinagar is a much-frequented pilgrimage site for Indian and foreign tourists, and temples have been constructed by Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Thai, Burmese, South Korean, Tibetan and Japanese Buddhists, alongside the ruins of monasteries and stupas. Kushinagar is one of the main four Buddhist pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha. The other three are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath. The most important places of pilgrimage in Buddhism are located in Northern India and Southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Calcutta. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... Lumbini (Sanskrit for the lovely) is a Buddhist pilgrimage site located in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Zone of Nepal near the Indian border. ... Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya(24° 41 60N, 84° 58 60E) is a city in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. ... Sarnath (formerly also Mrigadava, Rishipattana, Isipatana), located 13 kilometres from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded. ...

The two places most frequently visited in Kushinagar are the Mahaparinirvana Stupa, which is built on the place of Buddha's Mahaparinirvana (Great Nirvana or passing away), and the place of his cremation, which is 1.6 km away. Close to the Mahaparinirvana Stupa is located a 1500 year old Buddha-image of the Buddha as he attained Parinirvana. The Mahaparinirvana Stupa is surrounded by ruins of ancient monasteries. The death of the Buddha, or Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara 2-3rd century. ... Buddhist concept. ...

The ancient excavated Buddha-image inside the Parinirvana Temple, Kushinagar

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kushinara

• Entry on Kusinara (Kushinagar) in the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names
• The Maitreya Project is building a 500ft/152m bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha near Kushinagar (previously planned in Bodhgaya).
• photos of Kushinagar ruins and stupas