Kushinagar - Discovery and Identification

Discovery and Identification

The remains of the Parinirvana Stupa and Parinirvana Temple, when rediscovered, were covered in a 40 foot high mound of bricks surrounded by a dense thorny forest. After E. Buchanan, an officer of the East India Company, arrived in Kasia in the course of his survey-work, H. H. Wilson, in 1854, made the suggestion that ancient Kushinagar and Kasia were the same. Work resumed around 1861–1862 when Alexander Cunningham, the founder of the Archaeological Survey of India suggested the site to be that of Gautama Buddha's decease. A British officer named Mr. A. C. L. Carlleyle followed suit. Excavations began 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. Although no decisive evidence was found to prove Cunningham’s supposition that the site known at Māthā kūār kā Koṭ was Kushinārā, a series of monastic seals with the Sanskrit legend mahāparinirvāne cāturdiśo bhikṣusaṃghaḥ were taken to show that by the late Gupta period the site was understood to be that of the Buddha's final passing.

INITIATIVES BY THE DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION.

In 2012 the " Buddha Relic Distribution Site" has been added as a new pilgrim spot on the Kushinagar Tourist Map. The site is located in Village Anirudhawa, at a walking distance from the main Mahaparinirvana Temple.

The same year the" Buddha Ghat " has been developed on the banks of the river Hiranyavati ( Buddha was cremated on its bank ), it is the first construction on the site in 2500 years!!