Kushinagar

Etymology

According to one theory, Kushwati was capital of Kosala Kingdom and according to Ramayana it was built by King Kush, son of Rama, protagonist of the epic Ramayana. While according to Buddhist tradition Kushawati was named prior to the king Kush. The naming of Kushwati is believed to be due to abundance of Kush grass found in this region.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Kushinagar had a population of 22,214, with 3462 households. Males constitute 52% (11,502 Men) of the population and females 48% (10,712 Women). Kushinagar has an average literacy rate of 78.43%, higher than the national average of 74%, male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 72%. In Kushinagar, 11% of the population is under 10 years of age. Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 5.03% while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 2.39% of total population in Kushinagar Nagar Panchayat.

History

The present Kushinagar is identified with Kushawati( in pre-Buddha period ) and Kushinara (in Buddha period). Kushinara was the capital of Mallas which was one of the sixteen mahajanpads of the 6th Century B.C. Since then, it remained an integral part of the erstwhile empires of Maurya, Shunga, Kushana, Gupta and Harsha dynasties.

In medieval period, Kushinagar had passed under the suzerainty of Kultury Kings. Kushinara continued to be a living city till the 12th Century A.D. and was thereafter lost into oblivion. Padrauna is believed to be ruled over by a Rajput adventurer, Madan Singh in the 15th century A.D.

However, modern Kushinagar came into prominence in the 19th Century with archeological excavations carried out by Alexander Cunningham, the first Archeological Surveyor of India and later followed by C.L. Carlleyle who exposed the main stupa and also discovered a 6.10 meters long statue of reclining Buddha in 1876. Excavations continued in the early twentieth century under J. Ph. Vogel. He conducted archaeological campaigns in 1904-5, 1905-6 and 1906-7, uncovering a wealth of Buddhist materials.

Chandra Swami, a Burmese Monk, came to India in 1903 and made "Mahaparinirvana Temple" into a living shrine.

After independence, Kushinagar remained the part of district Deoria. On 13 May 1994, it came into being as a new district of Uttar Pradesh.

Location of Gautama Buddha's death and parinirvana

In 1896, Waddell suggested that the site of the death and parinirvana of Gautama Buddha was in the region of Rampurva. However, according to Maha-parinirvana Sutta, the Buddha made his journey to Kushinagar, died there and wherein he was cremated. Modern scholarship, based on archaeological evidence, believes that the Buddha died in Kushinagar, close to the modern Kasia (Uttar Pradesh).

Ashoka built a stupa and pilgrimage site to mark Buddha's parinirvana in Kushinagara. The Hindu kings of Gupta dynasty period (4th to 7th century CE) helped greatly enlarge the Nirvana stupa and Kushinagar site, building a temple with reclining Buddha. This site was abandoned by Buddhist monks around 1200 CE, who fled to escape the invading Muslim army, after which the site decayed over the Islamic rule in India that followed. The British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham rediscovered Kushinagara in late 19th-century and his colleague A. C. L. Carlleyle unearthed the 1,500 year old Buddha image. The site has since then become an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists. Archaeological evidence from the 3rd century BCE suggests that the Kushinagara site was an ancient pilgrimage site.

Geography

Kushinagar is situated at 53 km east from Gorakhpur on the National Highway -28, lies between latitude 26° 45´ N and 83° 24´ E. Gorakhpur is the main railway terminus for Kushinagar while air strip of U.P. Civil Aviation is available in Kasia, 5 km. from Kushinagar.

Tourism

Parinirvana Stupa

The reclining Nirvana statue of the Buddha is inside the Parinirvana Stupa. Statue is 6.10 metres long and is made of monolith red - sand stone. It represents the "Dying Buddha" reclining on his right side with his face towards the west. It is placed on a large brick-pedestal with stone-posts at the corners.

Nirvana Chaitya (Main Stupa)

Nirvana Chaitya is located just behind the Main Parinirvana Temple. It was excavated by Carlleyle in the year 1876. During excavations, a copper-plate was found, which contained the text of the "Nidana-Sutra" which concluded the statement that plate had been deposited in the "Nirvana-Chaitya" by one Haribala, who also installed the great Nirvana Statue of Buddha in the temple front.

Ramabhar Stupa Ramabhar Stupa, also called a Mukutbandhan-Chaitya, is the cremation -place of Buddha. This Site is 1.5 km east of the main Nirvana Temple on the Kushinagar-Deoria road.

Matha Kuar Shrine A Colossal statue of Lord Buddha is installed, which is carved out of one block which represents Buddha seated under the "Bodhi Tree" in a pose known as " Bhumi Sparsh Mudra " (Earth touching attitude). The inscription at the base of statue is datable to the 10th or 11th Century A.D.

Other major places

The Government of Uttar Pradesh has proposed Kushinagar-Sarnath Buddha Expressway to connect Buddhist pilgrimage towns. The expressway will be around 200 km long and will reduce the distance from both town from Seven hours to one and half hours.

Government and politics

Kushinagar comes under Kushi Nagar (Lok Sabha constituency) for Indian general elections. Current Member of Parliament from this constituency is Rajesh Pandey of Bharatiya Janata Party who defeated R. P. N. Singh of Indian National Congress in Indian general elections, 2014.

Current Member of legislative assembly(MLA) from Kushinagar Assembly constituency is Brahma Shankar Tripathi of Samajwadi Party who is also minister in Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Notable People From Kushinagar

Education

Kushinagar has made a lot of progress in education in recent times. Since last decade - dozens of private and governmental institutes have been launched at this little town. Here is a list of all educational institutes at Kushinagar:

Governmental Institutes

Polytechnic Colleges

Other Institutes

Medical institutions and hospitals in Kushinagar

There are two governmental and several private hospitals and clinics available at Kushinagar and Kasia. The popular ones are: