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The Most Important Buddhist Pilgrimage site in India
The most important pilgrimage site in India is Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya. There are various Buddhist pilgrimage sites all over the India and in the world, but in India its Mahabodhi temple which is located in Bodhgaya
Mahabodhi Temple (Bodhgaya)
The Mahabodhi temple is located in the Bodhgaya, Bihar. And, is considered the most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in India. this is the exact place where buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. this place comes under the UNESCO World heritage site, it means it has a historical value. This is the place where Siddhartha became Samayak Sam buddha or (buddha). that is why this place holds a a lot of value in Buddhist traditions. people from all of the world come to this site to see the place where buddha attained enlightenment. In 2023 alone, nearly 76,000 people visited Bodhgaya. the bodhi tree here, is said to be the exact tree which under buddha got enlightened.
Story About The Bodhi Tree
The bodhi tree is a fig tree. Ashoka the great had visited the Bodhgaya, 250 years after the buddha’s enlightenment. Samrat Ashok sent his children Sangha Mitra and his son Mahindra to Sri Lanka to spread buddhism and with that he also gave a sampling, a branch of the bodhi tree to the sangha Mitra in a golden vase and went to the north of Sri Lanka in Jam Bukola. as fig tree can grow from sampling, this tree was planted in Anuradha city of Sri Lanka. the tree grew and was brought to India and was planted in Bodhgaya.
Ashoka has built many temples in his life times, but his first temple he made was in Bodhgaya. even Samrat ashok, when he had started visiting the places of buddha, he also first visited the Bodhgaya.
(2013) Bodhgaya bombings
it was in 7 July 2013, a total 10 bombs were exploded in Bodhgaya. it area was around the temple, thankfully nothing major caused to the official tree and the place where he attained the enlightenment. however some experts said the damage did happen to some of the new structures of the temple. In this bomb blasts, a total of 7 persons were damaged. apparently 2 people from them were monks. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that the attacks were from the Islamic Terrorist group named Indian Mujahideen.
Places To See In Bodhgaya
There are many places that are literally must see in Bodhgaya. some of them are:
1. First is off course the main temple where buddha got enlightenment.
2. When Siddhartha became enlightened its true that he was under the bodhi tree, but after the bodhi tree, he also sat under various other trees for a period of 7 weeks.
In first 2 weeks he sat under the bodhi tree(peepal tree), 3rdd week he stayed near the Jewelled Ambulatory place. on 4th week he stayed near the bodhi tree, 5th week he stayed under the Ajapala Banyan Tree, 6th week he stayed under the Mucalinda Tree, in 7th week he stayed under the Rajayatana Tree. this places are around the bodhi tree, in the whole area of temple itself. each places are marked with a board, written on it as 1st week after the bodhi, 2nd week after the bodhi, etc. if you still not getting where these places are, you can contact a local guide who can give this info there.
3.Dongeshwari – Dongeshwari is the place where buddha was doing extreme fasting, trying to find the answers to his questions of end of suffering, he was doing extreme fasting like eating nothing at all, sometimes just only one piece of rice. this place is near Bodhgaya itself. visit this place.
4. Niranjana river – In Dongeshwari when he was doing this self mortification, he realised this was not the answer, and he left from the place of the dongeshwari and came near Niranjana river. he was offered the kheer, it consisted rice and milk, basically rice pudding by Sujata. this was a turning point in the Sidharth’s path in finding his answers which eventually led to his enlightenment. this place where she offered this kheer, was near Niranjana river, which is still there and can be visited.
5. Sujata gad (Sujata Stupa) where she used to live.
6. There are various types of viharas (temples) built by the countries around the world in their own style. these are one of the best places to visit in Bodhgaya. we recommend you to visit atleast Thai Monastery and Vietnamese Temple for sure.
7. One of the famous, the sitting buddha statue. the height is 80 feet
when we usually go there, we also visit all of these places, including a lot of the other places.
