Kushinagar - Objects of Interest
(i) Mahaparinibbana Temple
The present Temple was built by the Indian Government in
1956 as part of the Commemoration of the 2500th year of
Mahaparinibbana
or 2500 BE (Buddhist Era). The old temple restored by
Carlleyle was too small to accommodate the increasing
number of pilgrims visiting it. Inside this temple, one
can see the famous Reclining Buddha image lying on its
right side with the head to the north.The statue is 6.1
m long and rests on a 7.3 m long stone couch. On the
front side of the couch are three sculptures, believed
to represent Ven. Ananda near the feet, Ven. Subhadda at
the middle and Ven. Dabba Malla at the other corner. At
the centre is an inscription of the 5th century AD,
which states the statue was “a
gift of the monk Haribala to the Mahavihara”
and that “it
was fashioned by Dinna”.
This 1,500-year old Reclining Buddha image was executed
out of one block of red sandstone brought in from
Mathura during the Gupta period. It was Carlleyle who
discovered it in 1876 in a dilapidated condition and
successfully pieced together the fragments found
scattered about. This statue bears the 32 marks of the
Great Man (Mahapurisa)
and can evoke different feelings in one’s mind,
depending on where one stands to look at it.
• In
front
of the face, one can discern a
smiling mood
in the face.
• Near the
middle
part of the body, one can discern a mood of
suffering.
• At the
feet, one can discern the
calm
and
serenity
in the face.
(ii) Mahaparinibbana or Nirvana Stupa
This
stupa
beside the
Mahaparinibbana
Temple
is a restoration of the
Main
stupa
exposed during excavations by Carlleyle in
1876. When examined to a depth of 4.3 m, it revealed a
copper plate and other objects from the Gupta period.
The inscription on the plate in Sanskrit mentioned that
the objects were deposited in the
Nirvana
stupa
by the monk
Haribala.
Hsüan Tsang, who came in 637 AD, mentioned that the
Nirvana
stupa
was built by Asoka. He also saw in front of it a stone
pillar to record the
Nirvana of Tathagata
but it bore no date. The Nirvana
stupa
is believed to be erected originally by the Mallas to
enshrine the Buddha’s relics and subsequently enlarged
by
King Asoka
and later during the
Gupta period.
It is likely that the Nirvana
stupa
was built on the site where the Buddha passed into
Mahaparinibbana
for devotees to worship long before Buddha images came
into existence, although another theory puts the
Buddha’s
Mahaparinibbana
at the site of the Reclining Buddha. The
Mahaparinibbana stupa
was renovated in 1927 with donations of a Myanmar,
U Po Kyo, and is 23 m tall.
(iii) Matha Kuwara Shrine
After eating the last meal offered by the
smith Cunda,
the Buddha became sick. According to the commentary,
although the distance from Pava to Kushinagar was 3
gavutas
or about 10 km, it took great effort and the Buddha had
to
stop
at
25 places
to rest. Thus comes sickness to a man, crushing all his
health. As he wanted to point out this fact, the Buddha
spoke these words which aroused
religious urgency
(samvega):
“I
am wearied and would rest awhile.” At the last place of rest, 400 metres
before reaching the
Upavanatta Sala
grove, the Buddha had to ask Ven. Ananda
three times
before the latter would go to the nearby stream to fetch
him some water to drink. The reason why Ven. Ananda did
not go at first was because many carts had crossed the
stream, making the water muddy and dirty. After the
third request, Ven. Ananda went to the stream and found
that its water had turned clear and potable.This place
is called
Matha Kuwara
and a shrine has been erected and installed with a
colossal
Buddha
image in earth-touching-posture (bhumi-phassa-mudra).
The 3.05 m tall statue is carved out of one block of
blue stone and is about 1,000 years old. The name ‘Matha
Kuwara’ literally means ‘forehead prostration’, which is
what devotees do when they visit this shrine. The
present temple was built in 1927 out of donations of two
Myanmar devotees,
U Po Kyo
and
U Po Hlaing.
It is located 0.4 km south-west of the
Mahaparinibbana
Temple.
(iv) Cremation Stupa or Makutabandhana Cetiya
After paying homage to the body of the Buddha for six
days, the Mallas carried it to the
Makuta-bandhana, the traditional place for crowning their
chieftains, where they cremated it. The cremation
ceremony is described in Part VI of the
Mahaparinibbana Sutta,
which also describes the partitioning of the Buddha’s
relics by the brahmin Dona. The
Cremation
stupa
was raised by the
Mallas
some time after the Buddha’s cremation and repaired in
the 3rd century BC by Asoka and again in the 5th century
AD during King Kumaragupta’s reign. When Cunningham
visited the site in 1861-62, it was just a big mound.
The hidden
stupa
was
subsequently exposed to reveal a circular drum 34 m in
diameter resting on a 47 m diameter platform. During
excavations, a large number of clay seals
inscribed with Buddhist verses were discovered which
confirmed that it was the cremation site. It is
about 1.6 km east of the Matha Kuwara
Shrine along the main road. In recent times, the area
around the Cremation stupa has been planted with
grass and is well maintained for the benefit of
pilgrims.
(v) Buddhist Monasteries in Kushinagar
In recent times there have been some developments in
Kushinagar with the construction of several monasteries
and other modern facilities for pilgrims. While in
Kushinagar, pilgrims should visit the viharas,
namely: Chinese Monastery, Japan-Sri Lanka Buddhist
Temple, Myanmar Vihara and Tibetan Monastery, to
pay their respects and seek assistance from the monks
there to learn more about the holy site.
