2550 years ago, the full-moon night of Vesak was gradually coming to an end. Gotama Buddha was lying under twin sal trees near the boundary of the Kushinagar, the capital town of the Mallas. He would attain parinibb±na shortly. At this time, his attendant, Nanda asked him:

Venerable sir, what should we do with the body of the Tathagata (after parinibbaana)?

The Buddha also gave separate instructions for serious meditators such as Nanda:

Nanda, you should be concerned about attainment of the supreme truth (arahantship) and,

On learning about the parinibbaana of the Buddha, the rulers of the different kingdoms and republics of northern India laid a claim to his relics so that they could fulfill his final instructions to enshrine his relics in a stupa

The Mallas of Kushinagar; Ajaatasattu, the ruler of Magadha; the Licchavis of Ves±li; the S±kyas of Kapilavatthu; the Buliyas of Allakappa; the Koliyas of Ramag±ma; the brahmins of Veμμhad2pa; and the Mallas of P±v± were all devoted followers of the Buddha and insisted on their right to his sacred relics. Each one wanted to build a grand stupa enshrining these relics

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, a wise devotee, Brahmin Dooa, pacified all the claimants. He divided the relics into eight parts and gave one part to each of the rulers so that they could build a stupa enshrining these relics in their respective capital cities. Dooa asked for the vessel in which the relics were kept so that he could build a stupa enshrining it in his village.

Later, the Mauryas of Pippal2vana learned of the Buddha’s parinibb±na. They were devoted to the Buddha and so they arrived to claim their share of the relics. However the relics had already been distributed. Therefore, they had to be satisfied with the residual ashes from the funeral pyre. They built a magnificent stupa upon these ashes in their capital. Thus, immediately after the Buddha’s parinibb±na, ten great stupas were built in his honour.