The village of Don is located in Darauli block in Siwan district in Bihar. The village is associated with Buddhism in a very important way. The Buddha died in Kusinara, without leaving behind an instruction as to what was to be done with His mortal remains. Post His death, the Mallas of Kusinara gathered and took upon themselves the task of His funeral. Respect was paid for 6 days and after that the body was cremated. After the funeral, a dispute broke out between the Mallas and chiefs of other clans over sharing of the relics. Resolution came with the intervention of a brahmin by the name of Dona. He distributed the relics equally and more importantly to the satisfaction of the eight claimants.

All the claimants, out of sheer happiness and gratitude, gave Dona the vessel in which the ashes of the Buddha was collected. Dona, on his part, declared that he would construct a stupa to enshrine the sacred vessel. This stupa, later, went on become an important pilgrims’ destination.

Reference of the remains of this stupa is found in the travel details of Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang. Today, the stupa is no more than a grassy mound with a Hindu temple on it just outside the village of Don. Quiet closeby is a beautiful statue of Tara who is now worshipped as a Hindu goddess. The statue, it is believed, dates back to 9th century.


Quick Getaways

• Kusinara : Kusinara or Kushinagar is the place where the Buddha attained mahaparinirvana, died and was cremated. It is counted amongst the four holy places for the Buddhist community and is visited by pilgrims from both India and abroad in large number. Worthseeing here are the Nirvana Temple, Japanese temple, Rambhar Stupa and Mata Kaur shrine.