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Kushinagar,
(Kushinara of Yore), is revered place for Buddhist pilgrims, 55 kms away
from Gorakhpur. It was here that the Tanthagata, the reciter of truth,
breathed his last with the last words, "Behold now, bretheren, I exhort
you, saying, decay is inherent in all component things ! Work out your
salvation with diligence ! " A temple dedicated to the event - the
Mahaparinirvana temple today stands amidst a serene 'sal' grove ..... as if
still reminiscing the great demise.
The
whole of Kushinagar, since the Mahaparinirvana of gautam Buddha, was turned
into a memorial site with stupas including the relic stupa - makutbandhana
and Gupta period Chaitayas and Viharas, built by the devout kings. The
Chinese travellers Fa Hien, Heiun Tsang and T. Ising visited Kushinagar
during different centuries and recorded a graphic account of the pace which
later fell to bad times, due to lack of patronage. These recordings provided
the vital clues fro excavations done centuries later by Sir Alexander
Cunningham.