Site of the Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana
As mentioned in the Mahaparinirvana Sutta, the last journey of the Buddha to attain Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagara began at Griddhakuta, Rajagriha. Moving in stages, the Buddha and Sangha reached Vaishali, where the Buddha announced his impending parinirvana to the sangha.
Thereafter, Buddha along with accompanying monks and nuns continued travelling making brief stopovers at a series of villages called Bhandagama, Hatthigama, Ambagama, Jambugama where the Buddha continued to give discourses to the accompanying Sangha, and he reached Pava. Cunda, an ironsmith lived in Pava and invited the Buddha to a meal, which proved to be his last, as very soon after it the Buddha developed dysentery.
In spite of sickness, Buddha continued moving and he reached the sala grove of the Mallas by the bank of the Hirannavati River in Kushinagar. It is said that on the way between these two places, Buddha had to stop at 25 resting places, so faint and weary was he. He decided this to be his final resting place. There, on the full-moon day of Veshak, at the age of 80, the Buddha passed into Mahaparinirvana.
His final words were:
I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness.
At the place where Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana, Xuanzang saw a large brick temple with an image of the Buddha lying with his head to the north. Beside the temple was a 200-foot Ashokan stupa in ruins and in front of the stupa was an Ashokan Pillar on which were recorded the circumstances of the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha. Near the temple of Mahaparinirvana, he saw a stupa to mark an event associated with Jataka. He also saw a stupa to mark the visit of Vajarapani and another stupa nearby to mark the place where the devas worshiped the body of the Buddha for seven days. Close to it was a stupa to mark the visit of Mahamaya, mother of the Buddha from heaven.
After Buddha’s parinirvana, his body was carried to Makutabandhana, the shrine of the Mallas for cremation. It is said that they were unable to light the funeral pyre until Mahakassapa came and paid his respects.
Once word got out that Buddha had passed away and that his relics were in Kushinagara, the surrounding kingdoms all laid claim to the relics. King Ajatashatru of Magadha, the Licchavis, the Shakyas, the Bulayas of Allakappa, the Koliyas of Ramagama, the Brahmins of Vethadipa, and the Mallas of Pava all demanded the relics. Mallas initially denied sharing the relics of the Buddha but with the intervention of Brahmin Drona they agreed to distribute the sacred relics. Then Drona divided the remains of the Buddha among the eight claimants. Drona kept the urn for himself. A little later the Moriyas of Pipphalavana requested remains so that they too could build a stupa, but the remains had already been divided. Instead, they had to be content with embers from the fire. Then each of those who had received relics and also Drona and the Moriyas built a stupa so that there were 10 in all.
Xuanzang saw a stupa to mark the place where the Buddha was cremated. Close to it was an Ashokan stupa to mark the distribution of relics of the Buddha and close to it was an Ashokan Pillar with the story of relic distribution inscribed on it.
H. H. Williams in 1854 was first to propose Kasia to be the site of Kushinagara. At Kasia during the excavation of a large mound A. C. L. Carlleyle found a 20-foot sandstone statue of the reclining Buddha. The sandstone was of mixed colour, mostly of red and clay. The statue had an inscription from Gupta period (4-5thCE) reading,
The religious gift to the great Vihar, of the Lord Haribal. The colossal statue was presented to the first united assembly by Sura’
In subsequent excavations at the site of Kasia in 1900’s, many inscribed seals reading of the community of friars at the convent of the blessed Great Decease were discovered.
The present temple was built by the Indian government in 1956 as part of the Commemoration of the 2,500th year of Mahaparinirvana. The old temple restored by Carlleyle was too small to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims visiting it. Inside this temple, one can see the famous Reclining Buddha image lying on its right side with the head to the north.
This stupa beside the Mahaparinirvana Temple is a restoration of the main stupa discovered during excavations by Carlleyle in 1876. When examined to a depth of 4.3 metres, it revealed a copper plate and other objects from the Gupta period. The inscription on the plate in Sanskrit mentioned that the objects were deposited in the nirvana stupa by the monk Haribala.
