Kushinagar

History of Kushinagar : In ancient times, Kushinagar was known as Kushinara and was a small town of not great significance in the Malla dynasty. The actual site of the original town has not been established, but the site of the Buddha’s death was one of the four major sites of Buddhist pilgrimage. It was here that the Buddha died and was cremated and achieved the Parinirvana. The last rites were performed with all the honour that is due to a universal monarch (Chakravartin), as he was held in reverence by all people. The kings of eight Indian states of the Gangetic basin came for the funeral rites and divided his ashes in eight parts. Each king carried these back to his kingdom and built a ‘Stupa’ over the mortal remains of Lord Buddha. On the Buddha’s death, the various monasteries were established which flourished until the last Buddhist monastery was destroyed at Nalanda in the 13th century. There were eight groups of monasteries, stupas and images, indicating that Kushinagar was a substantial community. It was here that the Tathagata, the reciter of truth, breathed his last days. The whole of Kushinagar was turned into a memorial site with stupas and Gupta period Chaitayas and Viharas, built by the kings. Fa Hien, Hieun Tsang and I Tsing, the Chinese travellers visited Kushinagar during different centuries and recorded a graphic account of the place which later fell to bad times, due to lack of patronage. Some of these recordings provided the vital clues for excavations done centuries later by Sir Alexander Cunningham and the Archaeological Survey of India in 1904-5. A shaft was driven through the centre of the stupa which brought to light a copper-plate placed on the mouth of a relic casket in the form of a copper vessel with charcoal, cowries, precious stones and a gold coin of Kamaragupta I.

Mahaparinirvana Temple :

This temple stands on the same plinth as the main Nirvana Stupa behind it. The reclining Nirvana statue of Lord Buddha inside the temple is 6.10 metres long and is made of monolith red - sand stone. It represents the "Dieing - Buddha" reclining on his right side with his face towards the west. It is placed on a large brick-pedestal with stone-posts at the corners. There is an inscription datable to the 5th Century A.D. recording that the statue was "the appropriate religious gift of the Mahavihara Swami Haribala".

Nirvana Chaitya (Main Stupa) :Nirvana Chaitya is located just behind the Main Parinirvana Temple. It was excavated by Carlleyle in the year 1876. During excavations, a copper-plate was found, which contained the text of the "Nidana-Sutra" which concluded the statement that plate had been deposited in the "Nirvana-Chaitya" by one Haribala, who also installed the great Nirvana Statue of Buddha in the temple front. A copper vessel was also recovered which contained silver coins of Kumar Gupta, an emperor of Gupta Dynasty, 5th Century A.D.

Ramabhar Stupa :Ramabhar Stupa, also called a Mukutbandhan-Chaitya,is the cremation -place of Buddha. This Site is 1.5 km east of the main Nirvana Temple on the Kushinagar- Deoria road. this Stupa has a huge circular drum with a diameter of 34.14 meters on the top consisting of the two or more terraces and is 47.24 meters in diameter at the base.

Matha Kuar Shrine :A Colossal statue of Lord Buddha is installed, which is  carved out of one block which represents Buddha  seated under the "Bodhi Tree" in a pose known as  " Bhumi Sparsh Mudra " (Earth touching attitude).  The inscription at the base of statue is datable to the  10th or 11th Century A.D.

Meditation Park:

Recently developed near the main Nirvana Temple, this park has artificial water bodies with raised lush-green platforms for meditation surrounded by Sal-trees and other afforestations, representing a complete Buddhist-ambience.

Indo-Japan-Srilanka Temple :    

Indo-Japan-Srilanka temple  is a marvel of Buddhist architectural grandeur of modern imes.

Wat Thai Temple :

It is a huge complex built in a typical Thai-Buddhist architectural fashion.

Museum :

Built by State Government in Buddhist-architectural ambience. Ancient archeological discoveries and antiquities are displayed there. Visiting hours are 10:00 am to 17:00 PM (except Mondays).

Ruins & Brick Structures :

These are located around the main Nirvana Temple and Main Stupa. These are the remains of various monasteries of different sizes constructed from time to time in the ancient period.

Others :

There are several other nearby temples to be worth seen like Linh Son Chinese Temple, Myan Mar (Burmese) Temple, Birla Hindu Buddha temple, Japanese Stupa, Korean Temple, Shiva temple, Ram Janaki Temple etc.

Pawanagar /Pawapuri(Fazilnagar) :

It is a 'Nirvana' place of Lord Mahavir, 22 kms east of Kushinagar on the National Highway-28. Followers of Jain sect organise a festival here on the next day of Deepawali every year, when Lord Mahavir has attained Salvation.It is also believed that Lord Buddha, while going to Kushinagar from Vaishali, stopped here to accept meals from one of his disciples 'Chund'. Here he ate 'Sukar-Maddav' (Mushrooms) and developed dusentry which caused his death at Kushinagar.

Sun Temple, Turkpatti :

Situated 17 km east of Kushinagar on Kasia - Tamkuhi Road. There are huge and artistic   statues of Sun god, made of black stone.They were  recovered during excavations one of which is belonged to 4th - 5th Century A.D. and another 8th - 9th Century A.D.

Others

Kuber Asthan :

On Padrauna - Turkpatti route, this place has Shiv Temple, establishedby Kuber as per the saying. Lakhs of Shiv devotees offer JAl on Shivling on the 'Shivratri'.

Devraha Asthan:

3 kms from Padrauna cantonment, there is a huge ancient mount having three statues of Tirthankar MAhavir, tirthankar Neminath and Vishnu, one of the Trimurti of Hindu Gods. It is believed there stood a large Buddha Stupa also.

Kurukulla Asthan:

It is meditation centre of  'Aadi Shakti' Kurukulla Devi, setup by Nagarjun. It is situated on the river bank in dense forest 8 kms from Kasia - Tamkuhi road.

Sidhua Asthan :

Situated 4 kms from Padrauna - Tamkuhi road, it is famous 'Siddhi', place of gods.

Jaunpur

Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, North India  was of great importance during medieval times. It was founded in the 14th century by Feroz Shah Tuglaq to perpetuate the memory of his cousin Sultan Mohammad whose real name was Jauna.

Jaunpur was also an important centre of Islamic studies which speaks of its architectural heritage.

Historical Places at Jaunpur, North India

Atala Masjid was started in 1377 but completed only in 1408 in the reign of Ibrahim Sharquie. This Masjid represents the earliest and finest example of Sharquie architecture, and conforms to the general plan of the orthodox Masjid. Its most distinguishing feature is the original treatment of the facade of its prayer-hall composed of three large ornamental archways, the central one of which soaring to 23 mts, is gigantic.

Jami Masjid, Jaunpur
Jami Masjid is the last great Masjid of Jaunpur and also it’s largest. The Jami Masjid was built by Hussain Shah in 1458-78. In plan and design it is a larger version of the Atala Masjid. The imposing structure, raised on a high platform, encloses a courtyard of 66 mtr by 64.5 mtr. The interior of the prayer hall is topped by a lofty dome.

Lal Darwaza Masjid, Jaunpur
The construction of Lal Darwaza Masjid, said to have taken place around 1450, is attributed to Bibi Raji, the queen of Sultan Mahmud Shah. It is built on a much smaller area than the Atala Masjid.

Khalis Mukhlis Masjid, Jaunpur
Khalis Mukhlis Masjid was constructed by Malik Mukhlis and Khalis in 1417.

Shahi Bridge, Jaunpur
Shahi Bridge was constructed by Munim Khan in 1568 this picturesque old bridge spans the Gomti river.

Shitla Choukiya Dham, Jaunpur

Shitla Choukiya Dham is the famous, ancient temple of Jaunpur and is dedicated to Shitla Mata.


Yamdagni Ashram, Jaunpur
Yamdagni Ashram is a religious centre; this ashram is closely associated with the life of sage Parashuram.
 

Other Places at Jaunpur
Other places of interest include Shahi Qil, Khwab-gah, Dargah Chishti, Pan-e-Sharif, Jahangiri Masjid, Akbari Bridge and the tombs of the Sharquie Sultans.


How to reach Jaunpur

By Air: The nearest airport is at Varanasi Babatpur Airport 38 km.
By Rail: Located on the Lucknow Varanasi : Mughal Sarai section of Northern Railway.

By Road: Jaunpur is well connected by road. 
 

Some of the major road distances are from Jaunpur : 
Varanasi - 58 km. Ayodhya - 142 km, Allahabad - 110 km, Lucknow 228 km, Gorakhpur - 166 km.

Sonbhadra

Sonbhadra or Sonebhadra is the largest district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The district has an area of 6788 km² and a population of 1,463,468 (2001 census), with a population density of 216 persons per km². It lies in the extreme southeast of the state, and is bounded by Mirzapur District to the northwest, Chandoli District to the north, Bihar state to the northeast, Jharkhand state to the east, Chhattisgarh state to the south, and Madhya Pradesh state to the west. The district headquarters is in the town of Robertsganj.

Tourist Place : Vijaygarh Fort, Aghorigarh Fort, Sodharigarh Durg, Shivdwar Temple, Jwaladevi Temple, Kundeshwar Mahadev Temple, Renukeshwar Mahadev Temple, Radha Krishna Temple, Geeta Temple, Mukha Water Fall, Rihand Dam, Dhanraul Dam, Sarnath, Vindhyanchal Temple, Chunar Fort, Rajdari - Devdari, Vindham Fall.

Mirzapur

The ancient significance of Mirzapur city is evident from the Vedic scriptures, where it is mentioned as a sacred place. It is believed that the city was founded by Raja Nanner, who named it after Goddess Parvati as Girijapur. As per folklore, Goddess Parvati (Girija) sacrificed herself in a yajna at this place.

The district of Mirzapur has a rocky terrain which consists of hills, plateaus and cliffs. Mirzapur is watered by River Ganges and River Belan and their tributaries. It is surrounded by low lying hills like Rajdari, Devdari, Lakhaniyadari, Windom fall range, Sirshi, etc. which are the extensions of the Vindhya Range. It is bounded by Varanasi District on its north and north-east, Sonbhadra district on its south and Allahabad District on its south-west.

Mirzapuri is the local language of Mirzapur. Festivals like Jeevitputrika, Dusshera, Deep Mahotsava, Lalahi chattha, Shardiya and Vasantik navratra and fairs like ojhala ka mela, lohandi ka mela, Vindhya Mahotsava, horaha gaderi ka mela, litti bati ka mela and maa bhandari ka mela are celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Vindhyavasini Devi Temple is situated in Vindhyachal, 8 km from Mirzapur, on the banks of the holy river Ganges. It is one of the most revered Shaktipeeths of the presiding deity, Vindhyavasini Devi. The temple is visited by large number of people daily. Big congregations are held during Navratras in Chaitra (April) and Ashwin (October) months. Kajali competitions are held in the month of Jyestha (June). The temple is situated just 2 km from the Kali Khoh, an ancient cave temple dedicated to Goddess Kali.

70 km. (one and a half hour drive) from Varanasi, Vindhyachal is a renowned religious city dedicated to Goddess Vindhyavasini. Mythologically goddess Vindhyavasini is believed to be the instant bestower of bendiction. There are several temples of other deities in the vicinity, the most famous ones being Ashtabhuja Devi Temple and kalikhoh Temple, which constitute the Trikona Parikrama (circumambulation). The Vindhyavasini Devi Temple, the Ashtabhuja temple, dedicated to Goddess Mahasaraswati (on a hollock, 3 km from Vindhyavasini temple) and the Kali khoh temple, dedicated to Goddess Kali (2 km from Vindhyavasini temple) form the Trikon Parikrama.

Gorakhpur

The district Gorakhpur takes its name and fame from renowned, ascetic 'Gorakshnath', who was an eminent profounder saint of 'Nath Sampradaya'. A famous shrine 'Gorakhnath' was built in his honour on the same spot where he practised austerities.

History: The ancient Gorakhpur, in addition to modern, comprised the districts of Basti, Deoria, Azamgarh and parts of Nepal tarai. These region, which may be called as Gorakhpur Janpad, had been an important centre of Aryan culture and civilization.

Gorakhpur was a part of the famous kingdom of Koshal, one of sixteen mahajanpadas in 6th Century B.C. The earliest known monarch ruling over this region with his capital at Ayodhya was IKSVAKU, who founded the solar dynasty of Kshatriya. It produced a number of illustratious kings till the accession of Ram, who was the greatest ruler of this dynasty. Since then, it remained an integral part of the erstwhile empires of Maurya, Shunga, Kushana , Gupta and Harsha dynasties. According to tradition, the Tharu king, Mausen of Madan Singh (900-950 A.D.) ruled over Gorakhpur city and the adjoining area.

In medieval period, when the entire northern India lay prostrate before the Muslim ruler, Mohammad Ghori, the Gorakhpur region was not left out. For a longer period it remained under the sway of the muslim rulers, from Qutub-Ud-Din Aibak to Bahadur Shah.Tradition has it that Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296-1316) ordered the conversion of old shrine of Goraksha ( a popular deity ) of Gorakhpur into a mosque. However, on Akbar's reorganisation of the empire, Gorakhpur gave its name to one of the five Sirkars comprising the province of Avadh.

Modern period was marked by the transfer of this region by the Nawab of Avadh to the East India Company in 1801. With this cession, Gorakhpur was raised to the status of a 'DISTRICT. The first collector was Mr. Routledge. In 1829, Gorakhpur was made the headquarters of a Division of the same name, comprising the districts of Gorakhpur, Ghazipur and Azamgarh. Mr. R.M. Biad was first appointed Commissioner.

In 1865, new district Basti was carved out from Gorakhpur. The latter was further split up in 1946 to form new district Deoria. The third division of Gorakhpur led to the creation of district Mahrajganj in 1989.