Journey to Bodh Gaya: Where Buddha Found Enlightenment

Bodh Gaya: The Cradle of Enlightenment
Bodh Gaya, located in the Indian state of Bihar, is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in the world. It is here, under the sacred Bodhi Tree, that Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment over 2,500 years ago and became the Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands as a timeless symbol of peace and spiritual awakening.

Pilgrims and visitors from all corners of the globe come to meditate, reflect, and walk in the footsteps of the Buddha. The serene atmosphere, chanting monks, and rich cultural heritage make Bodh Gaya not just a destination, but a deeply transformative experience.

Importance of Bodh Gaya

1. For Buddhists:

Bodh Gaya is the most sacred site in Buddhism. It is the place where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree. Every Buddhist tradition — from Theravāda to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna — holds this site in the highest reverence. Pilgrims visit from around the world to meditate, chant, and connect spiritually with the roots of their faith.

2. For History & Culture:

Bodh Gaya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a symbol of India’s deep philosophical and spiritual history. The Mahabodhi Temple, originally built by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, showcases ancient Indian architecture and Buddhist art. It stands as a testament to India’s rich cultural and religious legacy.

3. For Tourists and Travelers:

Beyond its religious significance, Bodh Gaya attracts travelers seeking peace, meditation, and insight. Its calm atmosphere, international monasteries, and cultural fusion create a unique travel experience. Visitors often engage in mindfulness retreats, explore heritage sites, and experience local traditions.

4. For the World:

Bodh Gaya is a global symbol of enlightenment, non-violence, and inner peace. It represents the possibility of awakening through self-discipline, compassion, and wisdom — values that resonate far beyond religious boundaries.

The complex includes the main Mahabodhi Temple, the descendant of the original Bodhi Tree, ancient stupas, and various shrines built by devotees from across the world. The temple, with its soaring 55-meter-high pyramidal spire, reflects the architectural brilliance of ancient India and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Devotees from different countries and Buddhist traditions visit the temple year-round, creating a peaceful yet vibrant spiritual environment. The lotus pond, meditation gardens, and surrounding monasteries offer a serene setting for reflection, learning, and prayer.

More than just a historical structure, the Mahabodhi Temple Complex is a beacon of peace, introspection, and enlightenment — inspiring millions on their spiritual path.

Name Once known as Uruvela, it took the name Bodh Gaya after Siddhartha attained enlightenment here and became the Buddha Age When Siddhartha first came here in the 6th century BC, it was a part of the erst-while Magadha Kingdom. But there are records of pre-Buddhist settlements here
Location The most revered spot in Buddhism lies in the Gangetic Plain near the Phalgu tributary of the Ganga, 14 km south of Gaya and 22 km north of the Grand trunk road. 122 km from patna.

As it is today, so it was 25 centuries ago. When Siddhartha, who had renoun-ced the pleasures of cocooned aristocracy in Kapilavastu for a life of asceticism, arrived in Uruvela town (present-day Bodh Gaya), his faith too was on test. For years, he had wandered in search of the knowledge of “the sources whence flows the suffering of the world, and of the path that leads to the extinction of this suffering”. The path of spiritual inquiry shown by teachers led him no nearer to enlightenment. Disenchanted, he left them, and subjected himself to more years of excessively severe deprivation and austere meditation. But that effort too proved fruitless.

Emaciated and on the brink of death, Siddhartha realised that abusing one’s frame through extreme denial was just as improper as overindulgence. Accepting a life-restoring offering of kheer from Sujata, a local tribeswoman in Uruvela, he settled himself in the famed lotus posture on a mat of kusha grass beneath a peepul tree (ficus religiosa), facing east, and resolved not to rise until he attained the state of supreme awareness. Meditating thus, he underwent successively purer stages of abstraction of consciousness until, finally, at dawn on a full-moon day, he attained the long-sought state of awakening.

In that epiphanic moment when Siddhartha became the Buddha the Enlightened One – was born a philosophy that would spread to large parts of Asia and the West without resorting to militant Crusades. The quiet force of its profound eachings has, over the centuries, turned war-victorious emperors into pacifists, pac with a heightened sensitivity for all life-Forms. It has inspired some of the most pectacular art forms, iconography and lit-erature down the ages. And even today, 25 centuries after it was founded, Buddhism is a living, vibrant order with a significant percentage of the world’s population fol-lowing some aspect of this many-faceted religious philosophy. And the Bodhi Tree, or ‘the Tree of Knowledge’, in Bodh Gaya is the most revered spot for Buddhists the world over. This is where it all began.

Things to see and do

The Bodhi Tree draws the faithful from all over the world. Bodh Gaya is, in that sense, a world city. At any time, groups of pilgrims many in their distinctive national garo can be seen in the Mahabodhi Mahavihara vihara Temple complex, built over centuries around the Tree of Knowled Apart from this, Bodh Gaya has monaster ies established by the Buddhist countries of South and South-East Asia.

A touristy round-trip in a rickshaw (up to Rs 250) won’t take more than half a day, alternatively, you could hire bicycles (Rs 40 a day). That apart, there’s the 80-ft alfresco statue of the Buddha in the gyana-mudra, built with Japanese funds and unveiled by the Dalai Lama in 1989. In short, Bodh Gaya can be done in a day, but prolonged stays will let you savour it at other levels. Some Western travellers spend weeks, even months, practising meditation techniques or enrolling for introductory courses in Buddhist teachings or learning to read Pali, once the language of commoners and of the Buddha.

This World Heritage Site is the pre-emi-nent place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The principal points of interest here are the Bodhi Tree; the Vajrasana (‘Seat of Stability), also called the Diamond Throne: a red sandstone platform which marks the spot where the Buddha medi-tated; the Mahabodhi Temple, a towering structure to the east of the Bodhi Tree that houses a large, gilded black stone image of the Buddha in the bhumisparshamudra (‘earth-touching posture’); the carved, sculpted stone railing around the temple, believed to have been built around the 1st century BC; and stupas and structures that commemorate events during the seven weeks that the Buddha spent here in a state of bliss after his enlightenment.

A traveller may spend many serene hours wandering around the temple com-plex, gazing at the magnificent architec-tural edifice and the thousands of Buddha images carved on the votive stupas. Or she may sit in quiet contemplation beneath the sprawling Bodhi Tree. At any time, a handful of monks and devotees can be seen performing countless prostrations to the tree. It’s a highly rigorous purificatory ritual: some monks are known to do up to 1,00,000 prostrations at one time.

The Buddha’s footprints (top)

In September 2003, the temple management int-roduced an electronic tourist guidance system, under which transmit-ters installed at 17 loca-tions in the complex pro-vide recorded commen-tary heard via headphones, which you can hire at the com-plex. The service is available in English, Hindi, Japanese and Korean. Entry Timings 5 am to 9 pm

The Bodhi Tree Close to the western end of the complex is the ‘centre of the Buddhist universe’. To the knots of the faithful who come to meditate beneath it, this arboreal sprawl symbolises the potential for each human being to realise ‘the Buddha within’ by liv-ing a life of moderation. The tree you see today is less than 130 years old and is believed to be the fifth descendant of the original Bodhi Tree. The 25 centuries old history of the tree and its offshoots makes an interesting botanical biography. Three centuries after the Buddha’s

mahaparinirvana, or passing, the venerated tree became the object of Emperor Ashoka’s chief queen Tisyaraksita’s jeal-ousy, she had a spell cast upon it. Chinese scholar Fa Hien, who recorded his impres sions of his wanderings in India in the 5th century AD, said that Tisyaraksita, incensed by Ashoka’s excessive interest in the tree, tried to destroy it. The emperor’s daughter Sanghamitra had earlier carried a sapling from this tree to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, and a cutting from that tree was brought back to Bodh Gaya when the mother tree died.

In the 7th century AD, the Bodhi Tree was felled by the sword of Hindu revival-ism, which responded to the growing appeal of Buddhism with naked aggres sion. Shashanka, the Hindu supremacist ruler of Bengal, undertook a crusade to Bodh Gaya and chopped down the Bodhi Tree. Again, a sapling from the felled tree was replanted here a few yous later. The Chinese scholar Hieun Tsang who came to study in Nalanda, noted in his memoirs that “devotees worship the tree with curd, milk, perfumes, sandal wood and camphor”.

The double whammy of the rise of aggressive Hinduism and the advens of Afghan and Turk invaders in the 12th and 13th centuries forced the decline of Buddhism in the land of its birth, and both the tree and the temple complex fell into neglect for centuries. They were ‘rediscovered in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, then director of the Archaeological Survey of India. Today, the Bodhi Tree stands as a vibrant symbol of an ancient religion that is taking root in newer regions and reaching out to ever larger numbers.

Monasteries

Most countries with a large Buddhist pop ulation including Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan – have built temples and monas teries in Bodh Gaya with their distinctive architectural styles and forms of worship. These are, principally, centres of worship, learning and meditation for monks and researchers and visitors from their native lands. For the traveller, they also provide interesting insights into the nuances of various schools of Buddhism. Almost all the monasteries are located within a 1-km radius of the Mahabodhi Temple.

Timings 8 am to noon, 2 to 5 pm

Sujata Temple

About 2 km to the west of Bodh Gaya flows the River Phalgu. A short walk away is a small shrine dedicated to Sujata, the Uruvela tribeswoman who offered kheer to the starving Siddhartha. The idol there depicts a skin-and-bones Siddhartha, his visage a virtual death’s head, accepting Sujata’s offering. A rick shaw ride (Rs 60 return trip) across the Phalgu to this folksy, unostentatious shrine makes for a pleasant early-morn-ing diversion.

Shopping in Bodhgaya

Bodh Gaya comes alive from October to March (the cooler months), but the peak season is December-January, when the Dalai Lama presides over the Kalachakra Festival. The festival centres around an initiation traditionally con-ferred by the Dalai Lama on throngs of people who gather from all over the world. This is when Tibetan pilgrims as well as trinket-sellers come down from Dharamsala and give Bodh Gaya a certain lively buzz. The entire promenade to the north of the Mahabodhi Temple complex is filled with roadside stalls selling thangkas, Buddhist icons and trinkets.

The seasonal Tibetan refugee market, which comes up about 1 km west of the temple complex, is good for purchasing woollens. Throughout the year, the government-authorised handi-crafts stores, which are located to the north of the temple complex, sell thangkas , dried peepul leaves , peepul-bead rosaries for meditation and lotus-bead malas from Mongolia . The bookshop at the entrance to the temple complex has low-priced editions of some rare translations of Buddhist texts.

Where to stay

Like the accommodative religious order that was born here, Bodh Gaya has room for all. Accommodation is plentiful and, as a consequence, even a traveller who is bashful about driving a hard bargain can invariably land a good deal. 

These options range from luxury hotels to budget guest houses, ensuring you’ll find something that fits your needs. For more choices and to check availability, you can visit booking platforms like Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, or Agoda.

Where to eat

The congregation of pilgrims from all over the world has an interesting culinary consequence. In peak season, the town comes alive with roadside restaurants that serve everything from Chinese to Japanese to Korean to Tibetan to Italian to that ultimate symbol of America, the apple pie. Most hotel-restaurants offer mishmash by way of a menu.
But the best food options are offered by the nameless, makeshift tents that come up near the temple complex from December to February. Of the established restaurants,

AROUND BODH GAYA

Rajgir (80 km) Such is the state of Bihar’s roads today that

it takes 3 hours of second-gear driving to get to Rajgir, the erstwhile Rajagriha, ancient capital of Magadha. The town finds mention in Fa Hien’s and Hieun Tsang’s narratives. Its principal attractions for today’s traveller are the 5th century BC remains of places associated with the Buddha. The Gridhrakuta Hill (Eagle Peak) is where he delivered his ‘sermons on the mount’ and where he proselytised King Bimbisara. The Buddha is believed to have frequented Venuvan, the tranquil bamboo grove near the hot springs. The Saptaparni Cave nearby is a 1,000-step climb up from the hot springs. This is where the first Buddhist Council was held, following the Buddha’s passing. A Vishwa Shanti Stupa, built by the Japanese, today stands on Gridhrakuta Hill, accessed by a 7-minute ropeway ride. The Japanese have also constructed a Nipponzan Myohoji Temple near the springs – the 5 am chanting session makes for mystical experience. a

Rajgir also has historical associ-ations with Mahavira and there are 26 Jain temples on the hills around the town. The town also claims a place in the Maha-bharata: Local folklore has it that some furrows on the ground at the southern end of the town are marks from Krishna’s chariot as he blazed into Rajgir, where Bhima and Jarasandha waged a bloody battle for 28 days.

The hot springs, south of the bus stand, are overcrowded but well worth a visit after a tiring day. The cleanest, most well-lit facility is the Brahma Kund. If you want to beat the rush, get there before 5 am or after 7 pm, but don’t carry cash or valuables. You can bathe either at the row of piped outlets or soak in the hamam. There’s no separate enclosure for women, though, and no dearth of gawkers.

The 500-strong tonga union has ‘banned taxis in Rajgir. Their horse-drawn carriages (called tum-tums) can be hired for anything
Rajgir can be done in a day, but it’s worth staying overnight and making a day trip to Nalanda. Accommodation options are fairly limited since most hotels near the centre of the town seem to consider clean sheets an extravagance.

Nalanda (93 km)

About 10 km from Rajgir are the ruins of the famed Nalanda University. For more than 400 years from the 5th century AD, Nalanda acquired world renown as a cen-tre of Buddhist learning to which scholars from various countries came. Built over three periods-the 5th, 7th and 9th cen-turies AD by three different rulers (Kumaragupta of Magadha, Harsha-vardhana of Kannauj and Devapala of Bengal), the 50-sq km campus had row upon row of monasteries, cells where monks studied and rested, elaborate kit chens, extensive waterworks and chaityas (shrines) for prayer and meditation.

Hieun Tsang, whose accounts of his prolonged stay and study in Nalanda helped identify the ruins when they were excavated in the 19th century, noted that in his time there were several thousand “men of distinguished talents and deep learning” studying and teach-ing here. Admission procedures were rig-orous. Students who came here from all parts of India and abroad were first

accommodated in guest houses near the university gates for weeks. Here, their intellectual and emotional quotients were critically assessed by dwar pandits (gate professors’). Hieun Tsang further recalled that seven or eight out of every 10 candidates were eliminated. And the few who qualified were further interro-gated by the whole order. Once they were admitted, the scholars studied the Buddhist scriptures, logic, philosophy, grammar, medicine and, on occasion, the Vedic texts.

This beacon of learning slowly lost its brilliance from about the 10th century AD, when Buddhism itself was on the wane in India. As in Bodh Gaya, a surge of Hindu revivalism set the stage for Buddhism’s retreat.

At the extreme south of the excavated ruins (which account for only an insignif-icant portion of the campus) stand the remains of the main temple the most recognisable image of Nalanda which is believed to have housed a colossal image of the Buddha. Japanese tourists, camcorders for eyes, account for most of the visitors today.

Across the road from the university site, the Nalanda Archaeological Mus-eum exhibits sculptures and archaeolog-ical finds from the university site and the official seal of the Nalanda Maha-vihariya Arya Bhikku Sanghasya (Community of Venerable Monks of the Nalanda University).

To get to Nalanda, take one of the reg-ular buses heading for Bihar Sharief from Rajgir. Get off at Nalanda and hire a shared tonga for a 10-minute ride to the university gates. From Rajgir, you could also share a jeepto get you as far as the Nalanda bus stop.