Bodhgaya Sightseeing - Mahabodhi Temple

Buddhism is today a world renowned religion. It is this temple that witnessed the divine enlightenment of Gautama Siddartha who renounced all worldly pleasures to find the answers to the questions that stirred his soul. He meditated under a pipal tree here and attained insight and wisdom that he preached to the world. This tree is also referred to as the “Bodhi tree”. A visit to this holy place will explain to you why the UNESCO declared it as a World heritage site in the year 2002.

The Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya built around 6th-7th centuries, is the largest but is a later structure constructed on the site of the Bodhi Shrine of Buddha. This temple was constructed by the famous Emperor Asoka who embraced Buddhism after feeling guilty of leading a life of war and destruction.

The temple is 170 ft high consisting of nine storeys of pyramidal towers. The structure has a stupa shaped dome at the top. At the base of the main tower are four towers at each of the four corners. On the edifice are several niches with Buddha images depicting scenes from his life. As you enter the temple you can see the main shrine which is built where Buddha attained Enlightenment. The place is called "the Navel of the Earth" (puthavinabhim) where Buddha gained wisdom, knowledge and light and later experienced this joy of liberation for the next seven days sitting there.

On the shrine is a massive two meter high statue of Lord Buddha seated with his right hand touching the sky in earth-witness mudra gesture. It is in this posture that Buddha attained enlightenment. Made of black stone and covered with gold it looks very serene dressed in orange robes. The Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya's courtyard is filled with many Buddha statues and at the back of the temple is the sacred Bodhi Tree. A place called the 'Jewel Walk' is near the tree where Lord Buddha practiced walking meditation for seven days after enlightenment.