Bodh Gaya is a Buddhist sacred place known for its cultural values since the ancient times. The Mahabodi Temple Complex is a World Heritage site included in the UNESCO List, from India. Bodh Gaya is the place located in the State of Bihar. It is known for the Bodhi Tree, under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. Lord Buddha is seated in a bhumisparsha mudra, fingers touching the ground. The Bodhi Tree is the sacred fig tree standing in the temple complex. The present Mahabodhi tree is the fifth one in succession of the original tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The Bodhi Tree is surrounded by numerous chaityas, stupas and various statues of Lord Buddha. Bodh Gaya is one of the four sacred sites related to four major events of Lord Buddha’s life. Every Year on December 8th, Buddhist monks celebrate Bodhi Day to celebrate the enligtenment achieved by Lord Buddha. Therefore monks from all over the world and followers of Buddhism visit Bodh Gaya. This makes Bodh Gaya a centre of international importance.
Bodhi Temple Complex
Where is Bodh Gaya ?
Bodh Gaya is located in the state of Bihar in India. In Bihar, the temple is situated about 115 kilometres south of Patna. Patna is the capital of Bihar. The best time to visit Bodh Gaya is during Winters. There is heavy crowd during the months of January-February. You can easily get cab and buses from Patna to reach Bodh Gaya.
Mahabodhi Temple
The main temple is made up of sandstone. The temple is made in the Nagara Temple Architecture style. The shikhara – the tapering tower of the temple top, is a unique feature of this architecture style. The height of the temple is 180 feets. There is a golden kalash placed atop the shikhara weighing 289 kilograms. There is an narrow pathway leading to the entry of the temple. Inside the temple there is a statue of Lord Buddha in seating position in bhumisparsha mudra. There are two flags made of gold at both the sides of the statue. The statue is said to be around 1000 years old. The main statue is made up of black granite and polished with gold. People pay offerings in form of flowers and bouquets. The main monk distribute biscuits as prasad.Seated Lord Buddha statue inside the Temple.
Parikrama Marg – Pathway and Prayer Wheels
The Mahabodhi temple is surrounded by a parikrama marg. It is an encircling pathway and is taken in clockwise direction. This pathway is constructed from marblestone. It is also bordered by prayer wheels. There are 482 such prayer wheels with various sayings of Lord Buddha written on them. These Prayer wheels are embedded with sacred mantra scrolls which are rolled in clock wise direction. So it always rotate in clock wise direction. Turning the wheel is equivalent to reciting. Prayer wheel is characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism.
Chakramara Sthal
Chakramara sthal is the place where Lord Buddha spent his third week during meditation. He meditated here while walking. The engraved signs on the platform represents the spots where the Lord Budhha’s feet touched the ground. The real spots are beneath the platform and the top spots were constructed by the British Goverment. the original spots were demarcated and decorated by King Asoka of Hinayana Dynasty of Magadha.
Chakramara Sthal
Bodhi Tree – The Mahabodhi Tree
What is bodhi tree? It is the sacred fig tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. This event of his life is generally depicted in the form of peepal tree. After attainment of enlightenment, in 528 B.C.E. Gautam Siddhartha became Lord Buddha. The original tree was destroyed various times throughout the times of history starting from the Khiljis. The present tree is the fifth in the hierarchy. It is believed that the present tree is the branch of the original tree. This branch was taken from the Bodhi tree planted in Anuradhapur, Sri Lanka. That Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka is still alive and is supposedly the oldest continually documented tree in the world. The current Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya is said to be grown from a sapling brought from the one in Sri Lanka. The Bodhi Tree in Sri Lanka was planted by Sanghamitra, the daughter of King Asoka, after taking a branch from the original Bodhi Tree. It is believed that two roots were brought from ANuradhapur, Sri Lanka. One was planted here in Bodh Gaya and the other one in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh.
Maha Bodhi Tree
Ratnaghar
Ratanaghar is the place where Lord Buddha spent his fourth week during the process of meditation. It is also called as the diamond house. It is believed that when Lord Buddha opened his eyes on the seventh day his body came in contact of sun rays emitting five colors in the atmosphere. These five colors came to known as panchashila.
Ratanaghar
Asoka Gateway and Pillar
Gateway built by King Asoka. It was destroyed during the excavation. The Left one was restored during the British Times. There is also a pillar erected by Asoka in the complex. However the pillar got destructed during the excavations and therefore the top part of the pillar is now preserved in the Indian Museum of Kolkata.
Ajapal Banyan Tree
After attaing enlightenment in duration of one month, Lord Buddha spent the fifth week at this place. This place used to have a banyan tree which is presently absent. At this place Lord Buddha answered a man that “A man is brahmana not by his birth, but by his deed”.During those times Bodh Gaya was known as Uruvela.
Mucalinda Lake
Lord Buddha spent his sixth week, after enlightenment, at this place. It is said that while meditating, a severe and strong storm broke out. At that time Naagaraj Mucalinda known as the Snake King, came forward for his rescue. He protected Lord Buddha from the storm by taking the form of an umbrella.
The Seventh Place of Meditation
Lord Buddha while meditating during the seventh week sat below this tree. When he opened his eyes on the seventh day, he saw two businessmen who came from Burma, now Myanmar. When the businessmen saw Lord Buddha, tears appered in their eyes. They offered Lord Buddha Ladoo and honey. Lord Buddha ate it and in return gave the 2 hair strands and two clippings of nails. The offerings are protected in Myanmar even today.
At Bodh Gaya, Buddha gave two mantras – Buddham Sharanam Gachhami, Dhammam Sharanam Gachhami. After giving these two mantras, Buddha went to Sarnath, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. There he gave sermon to five disciples – Dhammachakraparivartan. There he gave the third mantra – Sangham Sharanam Gachhami. These three mantras together are called as the three Mahamantras of Buddhism without which no prayers are complete. When Buddha left Uruvela, it became a saying that “Buddha Gaya, Buddha Gaya”meaning Lord Buddha went away. Hence the name became Bodha Gaya.
