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The Top 10 Most Important Buddhist Pilgrimage site
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 also considered one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage place 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.
Places To See In Bodhgaya
There are many places that are literally must see in Bodhgaya. some of them are:
1. 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. these 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 find it hard to look 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 at least Thai Monastery and Vietnamese Temple for sure.
7. One of the famous, the sitting buddha statue. the height is 80 feet. when our tours usually go there, we also visit this place, including a lot of the other places.
8. The Tibetan refugee market. this place has a lot of souvenirs. if you want to explore more, this is the place you need to check out for once. this place is full with Tibetan stuffs. from woolen warm clothes to statues, a lot of souvenirs are there. you can spend couple of hours just by seeing the artifacts here. this market is a seasonal market which is open from November to march. And the timings are from 9 am in the morning till 8 pm. The entre fee is free of cost.
9. The archeological museum, Bodhgaya. This museum is located from half a kilometer from the Mahabodhi temple, near the Chinese temple. This archeological museum was established in 1956 by The Archeological survey of India. The museum was inaugurated by the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. In this museum you will see the artifacts from the various periods such as Pala period, Mauryan and Gupta periods, Mughal period, etc.
In this museum you will see two galleries.
In gallery number one you will see buddha in various mudras, such as abhaya, bhumisparsa, dharmachakrapravartana and dhyana mudra, And some artifacts from the Pala period. It also has terracotta items of Animal figurines such as Terracotta bulls, horses, elephants, tigers, parrots, camels, monkeys, tortoises, dogs and peacock.
The other archeological materials include Terracotta balls, Ear-studs, gamesmen, pallets, toy-cart wheels, lamps, smoking pipes, lime boxes, potter’s stamps, terracotta beads, discs and hopscotch.
The artifacts in this museum where found in Taradih and Sujatagarh (Bakraur) sites. The Taradih is located 100 meters southwest from the Mahabodhi temple of Bodhgaya.
In gallery no 2, you will see artifacts from the neolithic age, chalcolithic age, Vedic age, late-buddha age, Kushan age, Gupta age, and Pala age. There are number of things which were excavated from this site which is in Bodhgaya museum.
A number of things were found at this Taradih site, like headless statue of buddha, the remains of a buddhist monastery, stones, mud and bones, rod, drains made of bricks were found in the Taradih site.
Best time to visit Bodhgaya:
The best time to visit the Bodhgaya is in between October and march. And most best time in these 6 months is December, because Dalai lama usually comes to Bodhgaya and stays for 10 days, recites sutta. its a very good time to visit in December to Bodhgaya.
How to reach there:
Airways: Can be booked through airways on internet directly to the Gaya airport.
Train: From Mumbai to Gaya station,
viti (cst) and ltt (Kurla) to gaya junction – 29 hours to 30 hours. from Gaya station to bodhi temple its 10 kms far and can be reached by sharing jeeps or vans
Now, apart from Bodhgaya, there are many other Buddhist sites which are important to be visited. When buddha gave his last sermon before his mahaparinirvana, he said these four places are important to be visited at least once’s in your life time, even if you are following buddha’s steps or not. these four places are Lumbini, where buddha was born, Bodhgaya, where buddha got enlightenment, Sarnath, where buddha gave his first sermon, and kushinagar, where buddha achieved mahaparinirvana.
2. Lumbini(birthplace of buddha)
This is one of the four places where buddha said one should visit atleast once in their life time. Lumbini is located in Nepal, in rupandehi district. Maya devi (buddhas mother), gave birth to the Sidharth in 624 BCE. In Lumbini you will see Ashoka pillar constructed by the Ashoka himself. it marked this spot that Ashoka visited this place. The text on the pillar proves that. The text is in Brahmi Script on the Ashoka pillar, and was first discovered in 1896
basically the number of places you will be able to see in Lumbini -
- Maya Devi Temple (Buddha was born here)
- Ashoka Pillar
- The bathing Pond: It is believed that maya Devi Herself Took bath in this pond before giving birth to the buddha. It is also believed That Buddha himself was bathed here after birth..
- monasteries of Theravadin and Vajrayana, the monasteries include, Canadian monastery, Nepalese monastery, Indian temple, Japanese stupa, Royal Thailand monastery, Chinese monastery, German monastery, French monastery, Sri Lankan monastery, south Korean monastery, Cambodian monastery, Austrian monastery, Singapore monastery, Vietnamese monastery,Urgen Dorjee Choling Centre, Golden Temple of Myanmar, and the Russian monastery is under the construction.
- Lumbini museum
- world peace pagoda built by Japan
- crane sanctuary
3. SARNATH
The third place is sarnath. sarnath is the place where he gave his first sermon. it is also called as dhamma chakka parivartana. the turning of dhamma wheel. he gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. He got enlightened in Bodhgaya and came to sarnath to meet his 5 friends who were also trying to find the answers. buddha also wanted to find the answers to the suffering. he found them in sarnath, and gave his first talk, thus setting the wheel of dhamma in motion. this is one of the most important places in buddhism. the dhamma was started from here. those 5 students were, kondanna, bhaddiya, vappa, mahanama and assaji.
Places to visit:
1. The place where buddha gave his first sermon.
2. Standing Buddha statue which is 80 feet.
4. chaukhandi stupa
5. Dhamek Stupa
8. Thai temple
4. Kushinagar
The fourth is Kushinagar. this is the place where buddha breathed his last breath in year 487 BCE. he died and attained maha parinirvana, the end from the cycle of birth and death, Also known as end of samsara or total end of suffering. during his last period he was ill, then he traveled to kushinagar, and gave his final sermon. That is why kushinagar is one of the most important buddhist sites to be visited. this is the place where every one should visit at least once in their life time. this kushinagar is there in present day Uttar-Pradesh.
Places to be visited here:
1. mahaparinirvana temple. the place where buddha breathed his last breath.
2. Rambhar Stupa
3. Chinese temple
4. Matha Kuar Shrine
5. Ashta Dhatu
6. Kushinagar Museum
5. Nalanda University
fifth is Nalanda university. For people who don’t know, this university was the worlds first residental university. The Nalanda university taught the Mahayana buddhism and buddhist studies were the central core of the Nalanda university. there were around 10 thousand monks in the university, around 2 thousand teachers and 10 thousand students. the subjects taught here were geometry, algebra, astronomy, medicine, Buddhist philosophy and logic. People from all over the world used to come in the Nalanda university for acquiring knowledge. this place is a must to be visited.
6. Rajgir
sixth place is Rajgir, this is the place where First Buddhist council happened. After the Maha pari nirvana (death) of buddha, the first Buddhist council of 500 arahants, under the leadership of maha kasyapa, this happened in the place of rajgir. this is the place were buddha meditated at the hill of the hill. the place is also called as the hill of the vultures. he said his 2nd sermon here in Nalanda itself. as the Nalanda university is also present in the Nalanda itself. he had taught the king bimbisara here in Nalanda university. buddha has meditated in his place and lived for a good amount of time after the enlightenment. buddha has walked on this land.
basically the number of places you will be able to see in the rajgir are:
1. The Nalanda university in the previous one mentioned.
2. Nalanda museum
3. son Bhandar(cave)
4. Rajgiri – veluwan – donated by the kind Bimbisar.
5. Jail Of king Bimbisar
6. Vishwa shanti Stupa
7. Saptarni Caves
8. The place were devdatta attacked buddha with a stone
9. Place where devdatta attacked the buddha is also present here
this place is one of the major parts of the buddha’s life.
7. Shravasti
Next is sravasti or Shravasti. this place was very popular in buddha’s times. An householder Anatpindaka, this name was given to him, because he used to donate a lot to the people, that’s why the name stick with him as Anatpindaka. when he came in the presence of the buddha, after teachings, he attained sotapana, the first stage, in the path of the enlightenment out of 4 stages. after attaining the sotapanna, he felt other should also learn this teaching from buddha, he invited the buddha to come to the shravasti, he asked the buddha, buddha smiled, this meant as yes from the buddha.
After that he started looking for the place so that buddha can give dhamma to the people. the place shouldn’t be too far from the Sarasvati, and it shouldn’t be too inside which will have a lot of chaos. while seeing the place, he came across a Garden, it was under the prince jeta, in olden times, it was a method of purchasing if someone said a condition for buying the house. as the prince Jeta, was rejecting the offer given by the Anatpindaka.
The Anatpindaka kept on giving offers of price, he kept on denying, on this the prince in frustration said, that anyone who want to buy the land, will have to cover the entire land with gold. And thus made a condition, and anatpindaka agreed to do so. the prince was in shock, why was he putting so much gold for, when Anatpindaka said that this land will be more valuable than gold, because buddha was going to teach people dhamma here in this place, the prince Jeta said to stop and gave the left over uncovered gold land in donation. so this place is very important, as this householder and buddha’s story here holds value to this place.
There are many places to see here in shravati:
1. jetvan Vihar which was donated by the anatpindaka and prince jeta.
2. Angulimala stupa. This shravasti is the place were angulimala met buddha.
3. Vishaka Mahal
4. Jantar Mantar, a place believed to be where buddha had performed miracles.
5. Ananda had also planted the bodhi tree in the jetvan vihar, it is believed to be the same bodhi tree, under where buddha got enlightened.
8. kapilvastu
The Eighth is kapilvastu. This place constitutes the early life of buddha. Before he left the palace, buddha spend almost one third of his life here. he lived here for 29 year in Kapilvastu before leaving for finding the answers. here you can find many places to visit, like palace site, the palace of the king shuddhodhan, the lord buddha’s follower. This place is near the Indian and Nepal border. This place is best to be visited from the October to April.
9. Vaishali
This the 9th place. In this place, the courtesan Amrapali was born. in this place buddha has visited several times in his lifetime. the Amrapali was found as a baby under the mango tree, she had tremendous beauty, when she came in contact with the buddha, she invited buddha for the food and followed buddha’s steps. She became an Arahant. And had also donated the mango tree place to the buddha for teachings. In Vaishali, you will get to see the amravan, which was donated to buddha by the Amrapali.
this is the place where, maha praja pati gautami, became a bhikkuni. gautami is the sister of the buddha’s mother. The mother of the buddha, had died 7 days after the birth of Sidharth (buddha). it was the mother’s sister, maha praja pati gautami, who raised the buddha.
here you will also be able to see the vishwa shanti stupa, made by Japan. that’s why this place holds a lot of importance to come in top 10.
10. Sankissa
Image Credit: Elephant Capital, Sankasya by J. Homany, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The Last but not the least, is the Place Sunkissa. This place was often visited by the buddha. The buddha, from this place left to the tusita dev lok to meet his mother. After the death of the buddha’s mother, she was born as a male in the Tusita Dev lok. from this place itself. this place where is left is still there. here buddha also gave sermons. As this also becomes as one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage place to be visited/
FAQs
1. what documents do i need to visit the Nepal?
Ans. you will need a Aadhar card only if you are a Indian citizen and that too if you are travelling from road, from India to Nepal. but in some places, the border might reject the Aadhar card, it is recommended to use the Indian voter ID or passport. if you are under 18 and Indian, you will need to also carry a Aadhar card and a passport. if you are Indian there is no need for visa problems as Indians can go and live in Nepal as well under the India Nepal treaty. foreigners who are not Indians, need a valid passport, and visa can be done by coming on the airport itself on the Nepal airport. the people who will not get visa after arriving are Nigeria, Zimbabwe and many more. these countries people will need to get visas before coming. they can contact the Nepal embassy for a visa before coming.
