KUSHINAGAR

Where He attained Parinirvana.... passed away.
In one of his last uterances, Buddha named Kusinagara, the site of his parinirvana, as one of the chief places of Buddhist pilgrimage, the other three being the places of his Birth, Enlightment and First Sermon. Its sanctity thus assured, Kusinagara was destined to be a great place of pilgrimage to the Buddhist world.
The history here may be classified as 'Before Buddha', 'Buddha and Kusinagara',' The Parinirvana'.
The Monuments of Kushinagar are situated in three distinct groups viz. the main site, comprising the main stupa and Nirvana Temple with the other surrounding monuments, the shrine called 'Matha-kuar' to its South-West and the cremation Stupa, a little less than a kilometer to the east of the latter.

1. The main site
This group is the most important and extensive of all the three, with the Main Stupa and Nirvana temple at the centre. Both standing on a raised plinth, and ruins of numerous Monasteries, smaller stupas and shrines surrounding them. Heuen Tsang describes a temple of Vihara with a grand stupa behind it rising to a height of about 60.96meter, which, it may be presumed are represented in these two monuments, with some later repairs additions and renovations.
The main stupa was excavated and completely exposed by Carllyle in 1876. It was then a huge mass of brickwork in a tottering condition, representing the core of what must once have been a grand structure.
The Nirvana Temple stands on the same plinth as the stupa behind it. the ruins of this temple and the reclining Nirvana statue inside were discovered by Carllyle in 1876.
The Westren Group - Ranged round the stupa and the Nirvana temple are to be seen a number of brick structures which were raised from time to time as compliments to the nucleus formed by the most sacred monument.
The Southern Group - The monuments in this group mostly small sized stupas raised from time to time by devout pilgrims in token of their pious visits to the holy monuments.
The Eastern Group - The most important and interesting of the ruins in the eastern group is the large platform like brick structure, a little obliquely orientated towards the main monument.
The Northern Group - To the North of this small building, which may be assigned to the Mauryan age, are seen a number of small stupas raised by pilgrims like those in the Southern Group.
Matha Kaur Shrine - More than a farlong South West of the main site, by the side of the road, is the Matha Kuar Shrine, wherein is installed a clossal statue of Buddha locally called Matha Kuar. The possible significant of it's name has been reffered to. The statue measures 3.05 meter in hight and this carved out one block of blue stone of Gaya region to represent Buddha seated under the Bodhi Tree in a pose known as the Bhumsparsva Mudra, which symbolically expresses the supreme moment in Buddha's life just before his enlightenment, when He called upon the earth to bear witness to the pieties performed by him in his previous birth.
The cremation Stupa - less than 1.61 km to the east of Matha Kuar shrine, stands a mound facing the road from Kasia to Deoria. There is a sheet of water, called Ramabhar, originally belong to the pond or to the mound it is difficult to say; nor can it be satisfactorily derived or it's relation to the event of Buddha's easily explained. It's location in relation to the other monument at Kushinagar and the pecuiliar character of the monument it represents, however, clearly go to prove that it is the site of the cremation stupa or the Makutabandhana chaity of Buddhist tradition.
The most interesting but the uncommon finds in the excavation of this monument, were ornamental bricks so carved that if those of one set are joined together they make the carving of a human figure or other figures of sorts. The bricks were also provided with holes pierced through them, perhaps for facility of quick firing and effective baking in the kiln.

By Air Though Kushinagar has air strip, the nearest International Airport is at Varanasi.