Why Identification Was Needed
By the time European scholars began studying the monuments of northern India in the nineteenth century, most of the places named in Buddhist texts were no longer associated with Buddhism locally. The religion had largely disappeared from much of the Ganges plain after a long decline, and sites had been reduced to mounds, overgrown ruins or ordinary villages. The task of finding where the sites in the texts actually lay was therefore a matter of detective work, using text, travel accounts, geography and excavation.
Kushinagar was one of those puzzles. Today the name is used for the town and district, and it is widely accepted as the successor of Kusinara. That acceptance is the end of a process that took decades, and some parts of it are still debated.
The Clues
Several kinds of evidence were used.
Early texts. The Pali Canon and other collections describe the location in relative terms, such as the sequence of towns on the Buddha’s last journey and the crossing of a river before the town. These relative directions point generally to the area east of the Gandak river and north-east of Vesali, but they are not precise enough on their own.
Chinese travel accounts. The Chinese pilgrim monks Faxian and Xuanzang described their journeys through India in the fifth and seventh centuries CE respectively. Xuanzang describes Kusinara as already in ruins, with a deserted landscape and brick stupas, including one near twin sal trees. Directions and distances given by these travellers were compared with maps by nineteenth-century surveyors. The distances are expressed in units whose exact length is itself uncertain, which is one reason this kind of evidence is useful but not decisive.
Local names and landscape. In the 1860s, Alexander Cunningham, then a leading figure in the Archaeological Survey of India, proposed that the village of Kasia, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, was ancient Kusinara. Part of his reasoning was the similarity of names and the presence of a large brick mound, now known as the Ramabhar mound. Name resemblances can mislead, but combined with the layout and the distance from other sites, they supported the idea.
Excavation. A. C. L. Carlleyle excavated the main mound in the 1870s and found a large reclining image and structures. Later work in the early twentieth century, by Archaeological Survey scholars, recovered further remains. Among them, according to accounts of the excavations, was a copper plate placed inside a stupa, bearing an inscription that mentions the Parinirvana temple (chaitya) or a similar term. This is often cited as a strong confirmation, since it appears to name the monument in a way that matches the tradition. As with other old inscriptions, readings can differ, and specialists continue to study the material.
What Is Generally Accepted
There is wide agreement among scholars on several points:
- The Kasia area includes a monastic site that was used for many centuries and was strongly associated with the Buddha’s final passing in the early medieval period.
- Chinese travellers’ accounts and the surviving remains are consistent with that association.
- The modern town and district names reflect the identification, and the site is recognised by Buddhist communities worldwide as the place of the parinirvana.
What Remains Debated
A few questions are not fully settled, and a careful reader should treat them as open.
- Whether Kasia is the exact location. Most scholars accept the identification, but a small number of researchers have suggested alternatives or have argued that the evidence is less conclusive than it seems. Traditions in other places have also sometimes claimed association with the final passing.
- The exact sites of events. The grove where the Buddha lay, the site of the cremation and other places named in the texts cannot be pinpointed with certainty. The Ramabhar Stupa is traditionally identified with the cremation site, while the exact spot of the passing is taken to be near the main shrine area.
- The date. The year of the Buddha’s death is itself debated. Many scholars place it in the fifth century BCE, with a range of proposals and with some arguing for a later date. This affects how scholars relate the site to wider history, such as the rise of the Mauryan empire and Emperor Ashoka.
- The identity of other places on the final route. The location of Pava, where the Buddha is said to have taken his last meal, is disputed among several candidate sites.
- The extent of the ancient town. Archaeology has revealed a monastic precinct, but much about the ancient settlement of the Mallas, as the texts call its people, remains unknown.
Why It Matters to Pilgrims
For pilgrims, identification is rarely a matter of anxiety. In Buddhist practice, a place can be honoured because of the tradition that has gathered around it, and communities have maintained the association over many centuries. The scholarly debate adds an element of honesty about what can and cannot be proved. Many visitors find that holding both views, reverence and critical interest, is a comfortable way to approach the site.
Visiting With This in Mind
If you want to explore the history further, take the monuments on their own terms: note which parts are ancient brickwork and which are restored, read any information boards, and compare the layers of the site with the written accounts. Information boards and published details change, so rely on current official sources. As always at an active religious site, dress modestly, remove shoes where required and ask before photographing.