Kushinagar is the divine land where Lord Buddha had chosen to free himself from the cycles of death and life. Located 51 km off Gorakhpur in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Kushinagar is a very important pilgrimage spot for the Buddhists and Kushinagar Tour Packages Uttar Pradesh is quite popular on Uttar Pradesh Tour. Kushinagar was the erstwhile capital of the Malla kingdom. The Stupas found here in Kushinagar date back to 230 BC-AD 413.
Kushinagar Tour Packages In India offers a rare peek into history. According to the Indian epic- Ramayana, the Mallas were earlier part of Kosala Janpad. Kushwati capital was built by Kush, and got its name from the son of Lord Ram, the hero of ‘Ramayana’. After Ram’s renunciation of the world Kush left for Ayodhya. His cousin, Chandraketu, son of Lakshman, the younger brother of Rama, took possession of this region.
According to Buddhist literature however, Kushinagar was named prior to the king Kush. The naming of Kushinagar was due to abundance of Kush grass found in this region, which still holds good. Since then, Kushinagar remained an integral part of the erstwhile empires of Maurya, Shunga, Kushana, Gupta and Harsha dynasties.
The medieval period, Kushinagar passed under the rule of Kultury Kings and continued to be a living city till the 12th Century A.D. Post 12th century no information of Kushinagar is available; the city somehow passed into oblivion.
However, modern Kushinagar came into prominence in the 19th Century with archeological excavations carried out under the supervision of A.Cuningham, the first Archeological Surveyor of India and later followed by C.L. Carlyle who excavated the main stupa and also discovered a 6.10 meters long statue of reclining Buddha, in 1876. A.D. Ven. Chandra Swami, a Burmeses Monk, came to India in 1903 and turned “Mahaparinirvana Temple” into a living shrine. You can see the excavated remains of the Kushinagar city and the Buddhist temples and stupas on Kushinagar Tour Packages In Uttar Pradesh India.
A very large statue of Buddha, carved on a single piece of red sandstone is situated and can be seen on Kushinagar Tour Packages. The great Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, an ardent follower of Buddhism, built this statue. All three famous Chinese scholars Fa Hien, Huen Tsang, and I-tsing on their tours to India, visited Kushinagar, which is a part of the famous Buddhist circle encompassing Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal.
The Matha Kua and Ramabhar stupa are important Buddhist landmarks that marks the importance Kushinagar once had both as a city and also as a centre for the practice of Buddhism. Today, tourists and Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world visit Kushinagar. The Mahaparinirvana Temple is the famous place Kushinagar and houses the famous reclining statue of Buddha. The statue is 20-feet-long and seated on a brick platform. The two most important monasteries at Kushinagar are Mahaparinirvana Vihara and Makutabandhara Vihara.
Close to Kushinagar is the newly built city of Wat Thai Kusinara developed by the Thai pilgrims. The city is spread in an area of 10 acres and hundreds Buddhists from Thailand come here and practice the gospel of Buddha.
