Mahabodhi Temple (Bodh Gaya)

Overview

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is a Buddhist temple complex located in Bodh Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar. It marks the place where Buddhists believe Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, and Buddhists worldwide venerate it as the holiest site of Buddhist pilgrimage. Pilgrims from across the Buddhist world pray, meditate, and circle the temple daily. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Present

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is managed by the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee, a body established under a 1949 law of the Indian state of Bihar. The committee includes both Hindu and Buddhist members and is chaired by the district magistrate of Gaya; Buddhist organizations campaign for the temple to be placed fully under Buddhist control. Resident monks conduct morning and evening prayers in the main temple, and pilgrims from Buddhist communities around the world come to meditate under the Bodhi Tree, walk around the temple, and make offerings. Monasteries built by Buddhist communities of many nations operate in Bodh Gaya around the complex, and the town fills with pilgrims in the winter pilgrimage season.

Religious Significance

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex marks the place where, Buddhists believe, Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama was a prince from the region of present-day Nepal who left his home to seek an end to human suffering; Buddhists believe that while meditating under a fig tree at this spot, about 2,500 years ago, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, a title meaning the awakened one. The tree became known as the Bodhi Tree, the tree of awakening. Buddhists venerate the site as the holiest of the four principal places connected to the Buddha's life, together with Lumbini, where he was born, Sarnath, where he first taught, and Kushinagar, where he died. Beside the temple grows a sacred fig tree that Buddhist tradition holds descends from the original Bodhi Tree, and the Vajrasana, a stone slab known as the diamond throne, marks the seat of the enlightenment. Pilgrims meditate under the tree, walk clockwise around the temple, chant, and prostrate themselves, practices that continue through day and night in the winter pilgrimage season.

History & Structure

The Mahabodhi Temple's first structure was built around 260 BCE by Ashoka, an Indian emperor who embraced Buddhism and visited Bodh Gaya to venerate the Bodhi Tree; the stone Vajrasana dates from his time. The present temple was built in the 5th to 6th century CE entirely of brick, rising as a stepped pyramid tower about 50 meters high with four smaller corner towers around it. Carved stone railings from the early centuries BCE and CE surround parts of the complex. After Buddhism declined in the region from the 13th century, the temple fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned; from the 16th century a Hindu monastery established nearby held the site. The temple was restored in the 19th century, and in 1949 its management passed to a joint committee under Indian state law. In 2002 the Mahabodhi Temple Complex was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Additional Resources

• Official website: Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee
• UNESCO: Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya