Mahaparinirvana Temple

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Context

About

The Parinirvana Stupa is a Buddhist temple in Kushinagar, India which is said to be the place of death of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
Alexander Cunningham conclusively proved that Gautama Buddha had died in the area.
The present temple was built by the Indian Government in 1956 as part of the commemoration of the 2,500th year of the Mahaparinivana or 2500 BE (Buddhist Era).
Inside this temple, there is a 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 stone couch.
After 45 years of missionary activities, the Buddha, severely stricken with illness, finally reached to Kushinagar, where he ordained his last disciple and uttered his last words to the sangha and attained Parinirvana in 487 BCE.
Maurya king Ashoka reportedly visited Kushinagar in 260 BCE where he built several caityas, stupas to honor the Buddha's place of Nirvana. Buddhist sites in Kushinagar were steadily expanded during the Kushan empire (c. 50-241 CE), while Kushinagar witnessed a golden age during the Gupta empire(c. 320-647 CE) when the Parinirvana Stupa was largely expanded and Parinirvana Temple was reconstructed along with a huge reclining Buddha statue.

Abhidhamma Day

The day symbolises the end of three-month rainy retreat – Varshavaas or Vassa – for the Buddhist Monks, during which they stay at one place in vihara & monastery and pray.
The event will also be attended by eminent Monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan and Cambodia, as well as Ambassadors of various countries.