Kusinagar: Where Buddha Slipped his Earthly Bonds.

                                         Kusinagar 

The buddha's last days are described in the pali text called the great parinirvana sutra (means completed nirvana).It is an  important Buddhist pilgrimage site,where Buddhist believe gautam buddha attained Parinirvan after his death.It is famous for numerous monastery and stupa dating back years ago are almost in relics now.

Distribution site of Buddha's relics

                        On reaching the village of kusinara of mallas on the further side of the hiranyavati river, the buddha realised that his end was fast approaching. He told Ananda to prepare a bed for him with its head turned towards the north between two sal trees. Ananda who served him for 20 years was deeply upset. Buddha consoles him "Don't grieve ,Ananda!'. The nature of things dictates that we must leave those dear to us.

Ramabhar stupa

                       At that time kusinara was a small city, a branch township wattle and daub houses in the modest of the jungle, and Amanda was , at first , disappointed that the buddha should have chosen it for his parinirvana.

                          The buddha had three reasons for coming to kusinara to die:

(1) because it was the proper venue for the preaching of the Maya sudassana sutta.

(2):because subhadda would visit him there and , after listening to his sermon,would develop meditation and become a arahant while buddha is real alive.

(3) because brahmana Doha would be there after the buddha death, to solve the problem of the distribution of his relics.

Buddha relics distribution place

At the scene of Buddha's death,kusinara become one of the more holy places declare by the buddha to fit places of Buddha, prior to what his death look places.the people of mallas of kusinara were  always great admirers of the buddha, even though not all of them were his followers.

History:  the  mallas had at first a monarchical constitution  when their capital city had been known as kusavati. But later on, in the time of Buddha, when the monarchy came to he replaced by a republican constitution , the name of the city was changes to kusinara. kusinara is an ancient city mentioned by xuanzang in his record s of western world--the capital of this city is in ruins, and its town and villages waste and desolate.the another name of kusinara is kusinagara.

The present kusinara is identified with kusavati and kusinara.kusinara was the capital of mallas which was one of the sixteen mahajanpads of the 6th century BCE. Kusinara continued to be living city till the 12th century CE and was thereafter lost into oblivion.

Alexander Cunningham and C.L carlleyle who exposed the main stupa and also discovered a 6.10m long statue of reclining Buddha in 1876.(ramabhar stupa).

Chandra swami, a Burmese monk ,came to india in 1903 and made mahaparinirvan temple into living shrine.

Conjecture reconstruction of kusinagar

 Now kusinara is kuhinagar part of deoria district in uttar Pradesh.

Gautam Buddha's parinirvana : After the Buddhas death his body was carried into the city by the northern. Gate and out of the city by eastern gate ,to the east of the city was makutabandhana, the shrine of mallas, and there the body was cremated for seven days those assembled at the ceremony held a festival in honour of the relics.   

           some scholars suggested that the site of the death and parinirvana of gautam Buddha was in the region of rampurva. But According to Mahayana sutra, the Buddha made his journey to kushinagar, died there,and this is where he cremated.

Ashoka built a stupa and pilgrimage site to mark Buddha's parinirvana in kushinagar. The site was abandoned by Buddhist monks around 1200CE, who fled to escape the invading Muslim army, after which the site decayed during Islamic rule in india that followed.