From Sarnath, I headed for Gorakhpur with Kushinagar on my mind. After a drive of less than one hour I reached the dusty hamlet of Kushinagar, the place where Lord Buddha breathed his last. It is a site of immense significance for the Buddhists.

Kushinagar has its own attractions which bewildered me at the very first instance. The 6.10 feet long reclining Nirvana statue of Lord Buddha inside the Mahaparinirvana Temple is a major attraction in Kushinagar which has amazed pilgrims and visitors from across the world and I was no exception. After paying homage to the Lord here, I went to see the Nirvana Chaitya.

A walk of 1.5 kms eastwards from the main Nirvana Temple and I was there in the Rambhar Stupa, the place where the Lord was cremated. I was not the lone pilgrim here. The area bustles with life as hundreds of people visit this place everyday.

At the Matha Kuar shrine I was enthralled at the sight of the colossal statue of our ruling deity. The statue depicts the Lord sitting under the Bodhi tree in a pose known as Bhumi Sparsh Mudra. I didn’t fail to visit the Indo-Japan-Sri Lanka temple, a modern Buddhist architectural edifice; and the beautiful Wat Thai temple, a splendid monument in the fashion of Thai-Buddhist architecture.

As I moved around the main Nirvana Temple I noticed the ruins of various manasteries constructed from time to time in the days of yore.

The museum beckoned me with its fabulous collection of ancient archaeological discoveries and things of antiquity. As I closely watched these ancient artefacts I was filled with the desire to touch them, take them home, but these are only wild fantasies, for who wil let me possess these precious objects!