Mahabodhi Temple

The Mahabodhi Temple is in India.

Its tall tower is made of brick. All around it are paths, trees and many stupas, which are monuments built as offerings.

The temple stands in Bodh Gaya, about 115 kilometers south of Patna, the capital of the state of Bihar, and 16 kilometers from the town of Gaya. Its tall, curved tower rises about 50 meters.

The temple sits in an enclosure about 5 meters below the level of the land around it. From the east, steps lead down to a long central path that runs to the main temple, past shrines and many votive stupas. UNESCO says these stupas were built by kings, princes, noblemen and ordinary people, and they range from the simplest to the most richly made.

UNESCO's statement places the complex 115 km south of Patna and 16 km from Gaya, with a total area of 4.86 hectares. Besides the main temple, it includes the Vajrasana, the Bodhi Tree and six other places that Buddhist tradition links with the weeks after the Buddha's enlightenment; a seventh, the Lotus Pond, lies outside the enclosure to the south. Inner, middle and outer boundaries surround the temple, and passages run around the temple area and the pond at two or three levels, the whole ensemble lying about 5 m below the surrounding land.

The complex is the property of the State Government of Bihar. Under the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee looks after it, and conservation works are carried out under the expert guidance of the Archaeological Survey of India. UNESCO notes that the main source of funds is donations.

West of the temple grows a giant Bodhi tree.

Next to it is a smooth stone platform. Nearby are many stupas of different shapes and sizes.

To the west of the main temple grows a giant Bodhi tree. Buddhist tradition holds that the Buddha reached enlightenment under a Bodhi tree at this spot, and UNESCO calls this tree a supposed direct descendant of that first one. Beside it, attached to the temple, is the Vajrasana, a platform of polished sandstone that UNESCO says the emperor Asoka first put there.

A sandstone railing once ran around this place under the tree. A few of its original posts still stand, carved with human faces, animals and patterns. North of the central path, on a raised area, stands a prayer hall called the Animeshlochan Chaitya.

The Bodhi Tree west of the main temple is, in UNESCO's words, 'a supposed direct descendant' of the tree under which Buddhist tradition holds that the Buddha attained enlightenment. Next to it, the Vajrasana, a polished sandstone platform attached to the temple, was originally installed by Asoka. A sandstone balustrade once encircled the place under the tree; only a few original pillars remain in position, carved with human faces, animals and decorative details, and UNESCO calls the sculpted balustrades an outstanding early example of relief sculpture in stone.

Along the central path stand a gateway first built by Asoka and later rebuilt, and a small shrine with carved stone footprints (padas) on black stone dating from the 3rd century BC. To the south of the path is a cluster of votive stupas built by kings, princes, noblemen and lay people, from the simplest to the most sumptuous. North of the path, on a raised area, is the Animeshlochan Chaitya, a prayer hall.

In the photo, a gray prayer hall has a tall, pointed tower.

Behind it, on the right, the top of the main temple rises above a tree. Its tip is gold-colored.

The photo, taken in April 2023, shows the Animeshlochan Chaitya, the prayer hall north of the central path. It has a boxy base with a pillared porch and a doorway, and a tall tower lined with rows of niches, crowned by a round, ribbed disc and a pointed tip. Orange and white cloths hang along its base.

Behind it on the right, above a leafy tree, rises the upper part of the main temple's tower, with a gold-colored tip and one of the small corner towers. UNESCO says pilgrims from all over the world visit the complex to pray, hold religious ceremonies and meditate.

The photo (3 April 2023) shows the Animeshlochan Chaitya, which UNESCO places on a raised area north of the central path. Its boxy base has a pillared porch and a door; above it a stepped, tapering tower is lined with rows of niches and is crowned by a round, ribbed disc and a pointed tip. Orange and white cloth hangings run along the base, and a few people sit near it.

To the right, above a tree, is the upper part of the main temple, its curved shikhara lined with carved bands and finished with a gold-colored tip; one of the small corner towers shows at its left. UNESCO notes that the complex has continuous visits from pilgrims from all over the world, and that, given the development pressures around Bodh Gaya, defining a buffer zone and rules to protect it is a priority.