Kushinagar District was a part of
Deoria District and came into existence as a new district in 1994. At present it has an area of 2,832 sq km and is bordered by Mahrajganj District in the west,
Gorakhpur District in the south-west, Deoria District in the south, and
Bihar in the east. The population is about 3 million. Its headquarters is at
Padrauna, 71 km from
Gorakhpur and 336 km from
Lucknow.
Kushinagar is famous all over the world for its cultural heritage. It is associated with Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavir, the founders of Buddhism and Jainism respectively. This is the place where the Buddha attained salvation (
nirvana) and was cremated at Ramabhar. It is believed that the present Kushinagar was known as Kushawati in pre-Buddha period and Kushinara in Buddha period.
There are many temples namely
Mahaparinirvana temple, Matha Kuar shrine, Wat Thai temple, Indo-Japan-Srilanka temple, and Sun temple.
