BODHGAYA

Bodhgaya, is the holiest of the four holy places of Buddhism. Situated by the river Niranjana, it is where Lord Buddha left his footsteps nearly 2500 years ago while travelling in the quest of enlightenment. It was here under a banyan tree, (the Bodhi Tree); Siddhartha Gautama attained supreme enlightenment to become the Buddha, (the Enlightened One).

At the age of twenty-nine, Siddhartha abandoned his luxurious existence and spent six years as an ascetic attempting to conquer the innate appetites for food, sex, and comfort by engaging in various yogic disciplines. He went to all the famous religious teachers of his day who showed him how to reach very deep states of meditation (samadhi).

ATTRACTIONS IN BODHGAYA

The Mahabodhi Temple

• To commemorate the enlightenment of the Buddha, Emperor Asoka built the first temple at the site of the Bodhi Tree around 260 B.C. This temple was replaced in the 2nd century CE which in turn went through several alterations.

The Bodhi Tree

• The most important of the sacred places is the giant Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa ). This tree is to the west of the main temple and is a direct descendant of the original Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha spent his First Week and where he had his enlightenment. The present tree is probably the fifth succession of the original tree which was earlier destroyed several times by man-made misery and natural calamities. The tree still appears to radiate an aura of abiding serenity, spiritual solitude and peace. Anyone, who likes an ambience of serenity, would understand this place's surroundings to be perfectly weathered for meditation.

Vajrasana

• In the platform between the Bodhi Tree and the Temple is a large rectangular stone slab thought to be placed exactly where the Buddha sat and attained enlightenment. This seat of the Buddha’s Enlightenment is called the Vajrasana or the Diamond Throne. Built in the 3rd century B.C. by Emperor Asoka, it is made of red sand stone. The outer dimensions of the Vajrasana are 143 x 238 x 13.5 cm. This is the oldest object that can still be viewed at Bodhgaya.

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