Maximus Nostramabus
- Jul 8, 2019
- 8 min read

Bōdh Gayā (बोधगया)

Updated: Jan 31

The holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists - Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya 1056

What and Why

Bōdh Gayā (Hindi : बोधगया) and its temple complex is the most sacred, religious site and place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. It is famous as it is the place where the Buddha (Sanskrit: बुद्ध, né Siddhattha Gotama (Pali)), is said to have achieved enlightenment (Sanskrit: अनुत्तर सम्यक् सम्बोधि, anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi) under what became known as the bodhi (Sanskrit: बोधि) tree. Since antiquity, Bōdh Gayā has remained the focus of pilgrimage and veneration for both Hindus and Buddhists. Almost all Buddhists would try to do a pilgrimage to Bōdh Gayā, an equivalent of Mecca (Arabic: مَكَّة, Makkah) to them.

For Buddhists, Bōdh Gayā is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of the Buddha, the other three being Lumbinī (लुम्बिनी, Buddha's birthplace), Sārnāth (सारनाथ, Buddha's first teaching location) and Kushinagar (कुशीनगर, Buddha's final resting place).

Bōdh Gayā has temples near its main complex from many other nations or regions with a Buddhist tradition (Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཡུལ, Druk Yul), Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ, Bānlādēśa), China (Chinese: 中国, Zhōngguó), Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nihon), Myanmar (Burmese: မြန်မာ), Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā), Thailand (Thai: ประเทศไทย, Prathet Thai), Tibet (Tibetan: བོད, Böd)), all within easy walking distance from the Mahabodhi temple (महाबोधि विहार).

The Buddhist Maurya (Sanskrit: मौर्यः) Emperor Ashoka (Brāhmi: 𑀅𑀲𑁄𑀓, Aśoka) visited Bōdh Gayā and ordered to establish a monastery and shrine on the holy site around 260 BCE. The complex contains the Mahabodhi Temple with the Vajrāsana (Sanskrit : वज्रासन ), Buddha's diamond throne, and the holy bodhi tree.

Toponymy

I would like to spend some time to understand these Buddhist words before we proceed to the touristy part. Bōdh (Sanskrit: बोधि) means 'complete enlightenment' in both Sanskrit or Pali, while gayā (Sanskrit: गया) means 'completion' in Hindi. Buddha means 'the awakened' or 'enlightened one'. Buddha is also known as Shakyamuni meaning 'the Sage of the clan Śākya (Tibetan : ས་སྐྱ་, pale earth)', which in turns means 'the capable one' in Sanskrit. Mahabodhi (Sanskrit: महाबोधि) hence means 'the great enlightenment' in Sanskrit.

While the common language during the time was Sanskrit, most texts in Buddhism used Pali as it is the sacred language of Theravāda (the school of the elders) Buddhism, the oldest school of the religion. As a matter of fact, the Buddha is believed to speak a language called Māgadhī Prakrit, which is closely related to Pali.

See

Mahabodhi complex site map (from internet)

The complex, as the plan above, is actually quite large and crowded, especially it happened that when we visited, the Dalai Lama (Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་, Tā la'i bla ma, né Lhamo Thondup (Tibetan: ལྷ་མོ་དོན་གྲུབ།)), literally meaning 'ocean big guru', was there doing teaching. The area covers the footsteps of Buddha during his weeks of enlightenment, with the main temple at the centre. One enters along the rim and follows walled middle pathway and descends into the complex. All monks and worshippers were either meditating or doing their rituals in their total prayer. By the way, the sect of Buddhism prevalent in this area is the Vajrayāna, literally meaning 'diamond vehicle' or 'secret mantra' in Pali. The security is very tight owing to a number of the 2013 CE bombing incident.

Mahabodhi Temple (महाबोधि विहार)

The temple is built approximately at 250 BCE, way after Buddha's enlightenment at the 5th century BCE. The temple is predominantly Hindu in architecture which replaced the original design of a small circular stupa in the 7th century CE. Much of the present facade is actually replicated as the original was brick and not very durable. There is a small and honestly unimpressive statue of Buddha inside the temple, which is at the base. There is no relics inside the temple, as the place was ransacked and left to rot before Ashoka's intervention. The temple was flooded and abandoned until it was rediscovered in the late 19th century CE, and subsequently reconstructed partly by the British.

It is thought that the temple in the shape of a truncated pyramid was derived from the design of the stepped stupas (Sanskrit: स्तूप , stūpa) which had developed in Gandhāra (गांधार) region, mimicking the shape of the mythical Mount Meru (Sanskrit: मेरु), the sacred mountain deemed as the centre of the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. The Mahabodhi Temple adopted the Gandharan design of a succession of steps with niches containing Buddha images, alternating with Greco-Roman pillars, and topped by a stupa. This truncated pyramid design also marked the evolution from the aniconic stupa dedicated to the cult of relics. This design was very influential in the development of later Hindu temples in India and was since replicated by almost all Hindu temples. Hence while this temple is now considered Hindu-looking, the influence is instead the other way round.

A Buddha statue sits on a golden pedestal, also referred to as Vajrāsana, inside the temple. Surprisingly modest from a tourist perspective and a very long queue as everyone expects something special inside. Honestly nothing special but no disrespect.

Bodhi tree (बोधि वृक्ष)

The holiest of the holy, from which Buddhism was literally born. This bodhi tree (बोधि वृक्ष) is the tree where the Buddha was meditating and attained enlightenment on the full moon day of Vaisakh Purnima (May). The tree is actually a fig tree (ficus religiosa) and has prominently heart-shaped leaves, in a way symbolising compassion.

The current bodhi tree, is of course not the original one as it must have died after 2,500 years. This particular tree came from the fifth sapling from the original and came from Sri Lanka.

Vajrāsana (वज्रासन)

The throne is not where the Buddha got enlightened, against common belief. The throne was simply a stone slab placed by Ashoka to denote the location of enlightenment a few hundred years ago. The area is now totally enclosed and sealed off from the public, although it can viewed through the fences.

When the Chinese monk Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘, né 陈袆 (Chinese), Chen Yi) came to the temple, this throne was almost totally submerged into the sand. According to legend, he broke into tears immediately.

Seven weeks of Buddha after enlightenment

After enlightenment at the bodhi tree, Buddha then spent the succeeding seven weeks at seven different spots in the vicinity meditating and considering his experience. Several specific places at the current Mahabodhi Temple relate to the traditions surrounding these seven weeks, and in a sense this represents the best sequence of visiting the complex, roughly following a clockwise trajectory from the top of the plan above:

The first week was spent under the bodhi tree.
During the second week, the Buddha remained standing and stared, uninterrupted, at the bodhi tree. This spot is marked by the Animeshlocha (अनिमेश्लोचा) stupa, that is, the unblinking shrine. There stands a statue of Buddha with his eyes fixed towards the bodhi tree, to mimic the time when Buddha stared at the bodhi tree without blinking to express his gratitude for the enlightenment and shelter.

The Buddha is said to have walked back and forth between the location of the Animeshlocha stupa and the bodhi tree, and ponder whether to broadcast the teachings. According to legend, lotus flowers sprung up along this route on his footsteps; it is now called Cankamana (कंकामना), as below. These lotus flowers are now replaced by a small stone pedestals.

He spent the fourth week near Ratanaghara (रतनाघर), the jewel house, to the north-east side. It is believed that six-coloured ray was emitted from Buddha's body and eventually this became the flag colour of Buddhism.

During the fifth week, Buddha answered in details to the queries of Brahmins (Sanskrit : ब्राह्मण) under the Ajapala Nigodh (अजपाल निगोडो) tree (banyan), now marked by a pillar. This tree was planted by a young shepherd to protect Buddha.

He spent the sixth week next to the lotus pond Mucalinda Sarovar (मुकलिंडा सरोवर), and being protected by the snake. Legend has it that during this week of meditation, the skies darkened for seven days, and a heavy rain descended. The mighty king of serpents, Mucalinda (मुचलिन्द), a nāga (Devanāgarī: नागी), half-human-half-snake, came from nowhere and protected the Buddha with his hood. When the storm had cleared, the nāga assumed his human form, bowed before the Buddha, and returned in joy to his palace. Mucalinda is one of the eight Aṣṭanāgarājah (Sanskrit: अष्टनागराजः) in Buddhism (Sanskrit: अष्टनेगररेजः), the protector of the Aṣṭasenā (Sanskrit: अष्टसेन).

He spent the seventh week meditating under the Rajyatna (राज्यत्ना) tree.

Other monasteries

There are a a number of monasteries or temples from other countries, the most impressive including that of Japan and Thailand. However we ran out of time to explore them in details.

By dusk, the entire complex is lit up by all the monks and worshippers with oil lamps, while humming or chanting their prayers. Quite a sight. Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to capture the scene.

Sārnāth (सारनाथी)

I happened to have the fortune to visit Sārnāth which is located near Varanasi (वाराणसी) during this trip. By the way, Sārnāth is around 240 km or five-hour drive away from Bōdh Gayā, so it is not the same area.

As mentioned above this is one of the four meccas for Buddhist, and the park is where Buddha first taught the dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म ) and where the Buddhist formed his first sangha (Sanskrit: संघ). Sārnāth is also referred to as the deer park, as its name is derived from the Sanskrit form अलभ्यम् (sāranganātha) meaning the 'lord of the deer'. This in turn relates to another old Buddhist story in which the bodhisattva (Sanskrit : बोधिसत्त्व) was a deer and offered his life to a king instead of the doe the latter was planning to kill. The king was so moved that he created the park as a sanctuary for deer.

The main stupa in the S ā rn ā th Deer Park (सारनाथ हिरण पार्क, Saaranaath Hiran Paark) is called the Dhamek Stupa (धामेक स्तूप), which looks like a massive brick bath-tub plug as above. The stupa marks the spot where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his first five Brahmin disciples after attaining enlightenment and hence formed his sangha. It is also in this spot that the catvāri āryasatyāni (Sanskrit: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि, four noble truths) are taught:

Dukkha (Sanskrit:दुःख): suffering, incapable of satisfying, pain is an innate characteristic of existence with each rebirth;
Pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद): origin of this dukkha is craving or desire;
Nirodha (Sanskrit: निरोध): cessation of this dukkha can be attained by eliminating all craving and desire;
Magha (Sanskrit: मघ): path is the means to end this dukkha.

The Dhamek Stupa was built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure commissioned by the Ashoka in mid-2nd century BCE. Xuanzang documented Sārnāth and reported that there was 3,000 monks gathering in the area.

Buy and Do

Tibetan Refugee Bazaar (तिब्बती शरणार्थी बाजार)

There is a Tibetan refugee bazaar (तिब्बती शरणार्थी बाजार) outside the Bōdh Gayā complex selling all sorts of Buddhist stuffs, especially those from Tibet. Be it real or fake, it is worth a visit. The popular souvenirs include beads and bags.

Getting There and Around

The six-hour drive from Bihar Sharif (बिहारशरीफ) is simply terrible, as usual in India. The entry ticket to the complex is a mere INR 100₹, but you definitely cannot bring a phone inside. You can pay a video / camera fee of 300₹. One should spend at least one day in the temple complex as the place is huge, not even counting the country temples. Every minute spent is every minute gained.