Sankisa

Sankisa (Skt. Sāṃkāśya; Wyl. lha bab gnas) is a village in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 300 km east of Delhi, and four hours drive east of Sarnath. It is one of the eight great Buddhist holy places, and is where the Buddha descended from the god realms.

Some time after his enlightenment the Buddha went to the god realms to teach his mother. When he was about to return to this world, Indra and Brahma manifested three stairs of 80,000 yojanas each reaching this world in Sankisa. As the Buddha walked down the central one, they accompanied him to his left and right carrying umbrellas to honour him. This miracle is represented by the Descent to Lanka stupas, one of the Eight Stupas.