About 53 km from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is located the town of Kushinagar, or Kushinara, as it was known in those days, where Lord Buddha left his corporal self and attained Mahaparinirvana.
It is said that Buddha had predicted his own death. And on the full moon of the month of Vaisakha (April-May) he realised his death was fast approaching. He expressed his desire to leave his mortal self at a sal grove on the banks of the Hiranyavati river in Kushinagar. He instructed his companion of 20 years, Ananda, to prepare a bed under two sal trees with its head turned towards the north. Scriptures say Buddha then uttered his final words: “Listen, bhikkhus, I say this: all conditioned things are subject to decay, strive with diligence for your liberation” and entered Mahaparinirvana (the great passing away). There are two versions of the year of his death; some say it was between 487 and 483 B.C. However, others believe it was in 544 to 543 BC. But it is said he was almost 80 years old.
This is the most popular Buddhist pilgrimage site in Kushinagar. The temple’s pride is the iconic statue of reclining Buddha from the 5th century and excavated in 1876.
His funeral pyre was lit at Mukutavandha Vihara, where stands the Ramabhar stupa. In ancient Buddhist texts, this stupa has been referred to as Mukut-Bandhan chaitya.
A few hundred metres away from the Mahaparinirvana temple, stands the Mathakuar shrine, built on the spot where Buddha delivered his last sermon.
During the excavations in 1876, a copper vessel was discovered here that bears an inscription which says that Lord Buddha's remains had been kept here.
Kushinagar is well connected with motorable roads from Gorakhpur and Deoria (35 km)
The nearest railway stations are at Gorakhpur Railway Station and Deoria.
The nearest airport is Gorakhpur Airport (55 km)