Mahabodhi Temple

• 1. Origins And Enlightenment

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  Around 589 BCE, Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath a peepul tree on the forested banks of the Phalgu river near Gaya. He meditated for three days and three nights until he attained enlightenment and freedom from suffering. This location became known as Bodh Gaya, marking the spot where the Buddha gained omniscient wisdom. The site contains a tree believed to be a direct descendant of that original sacred fig. Tradition holds that if no Bodhi tree grows at this place, the ground remains devoid of all plants within one royal karīsa. No being, not even an elephant, can travel through the area surrounding the tree. Buddhist scriptures describe the navel of the earth lying exactly at this spot. When the world is destroyed at the end of a kalpa, the Bodhimanda is said to be the last place to disappear and the first to reappear.

• 2. Mauryan And Sunga Foundations

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  In approximately 250 BCE, Emperor Ashoka visited Bodh Gaya to establish a monastery and shrine on the holy site. Although the original structure has disappeared, the Diamond throne or Vajrasana remains at the foot of the Bodhi Tree. Archaeological evidence dates the Vajrasana to the third-century BCE. Additional structures were brought in by the Sungas during the 1st century BCE. Columns with pot-shaped bases were found around the Diamond throne. These columns match descriptions found on relief carvings from gateway pillars at Bharhut and Sanchi. Ancient sandstone railings dating about 150 BCE surround the temple complex. Carved panels and medallions depict scenes similar to contemporary Sunga railings. The railing was extended down to the end of the Gupta period in the 7th century. Many parts of the initial railing have been dismantled and are now housed in museums like the Indian Museum in Kolkata.

• 3. Gupta Architecture Evolution

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  The current pyramidal structure dates from the Gupta Empire in the 5th to 6th century CE. A plaque from Kumrahar dated 150, 200 CE already shows the Mahabodhi Temple in its current shape with a stepped truncated pyramid. This design evolved from the Gandhara tradition of stepped stupas with niches containing Buddha images. Greco-Roman pillars alternate with these niches, topped by a stupa. The central tower rises over 55 metres high and is surrounded by four smaller towers. The structure is crowned by a hemispherical stupa topped by finials. This truncated pyramid design marked the evolution from aniconic stupas to iconic temples with multiple images. The shikhara tower with an amalaka near the top became characteristic of later Hindu temples. The temple is constructed entirely of brick covered with stucco, making it one of the oldest surviving brick structures in eastern India.

• 4. Medieval Decline And Invasions

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  Buddhism declined following Huna invasions and early Arab Islamic attacks such as that of Muhammad bin Qasim. During the 12th century CE, Bodh Gaya was invaded and destroyed by Muslim Turk armies led by Qutb al-Din Aibak and Bakhtiyar Khilji. The Mahabodhi Temple fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned after these events. The Tibetan monk Dharmasvamin visited Bodh Gaya in late 1234 and documented the temple's condition. He reported that monks had to block off Buddha images to protect them from Turushkas. The Vajrasana throne and other objects were left alone by the Turks who showed no interest in them. Sri Lankan influence remained strong at the site with only Sri Lankan monks allowed to worship there. The last abbot Śāriputra took up his position in the late 14th century and carried out repairs to the damaged structure before leaving for Nepal in the 15th century.

• 5. Colonial Restoration Campaigns

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  During the 1880s, the British colonial government began restoring the Mahabodhi Temple under Sir Alexander Cunningham and Joseph David Beglar. In 1884, a large Buddha image from the Pāla period was reinstated in the sanctum. The plinth of this image was reconstructed and parts of the dedicatory inscription were inserted in their current position. Sir Edwin Arnold visited the site in 1886 and published articles about its deplorable conditions. Anagarika Dharmapala arrived on pilgrimage in 1891 and found the temple controlled by a Saivite priest. He discovered the Buddha image transformed into a Hindu icon and Buddhists barred from worship. This shock led him to begin an agitation movement for Buddhist control. The Maha Bodhi Society was founded in Colombo in 1891 but moved offices to Calcutta in 1892. A lawsuit against Brahmin priests eventually succeeded after Indian independence in 1947.

• 6. Modern Control Disputes

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  In 1949, control passed from the Hindu mahant to the state government of Bihar. The Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee was established with nine members including equal numbers of Hindus and Buddhists. By law, the chairman must be Hindu until an amendment in 2013 allowed non-Hindus to lead. In June 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The committee serves three-year terms with four Buddhist and four Hindu representatives. The advisory board includes the governor of Bihar and twenty to twenty-five other members from foreign Buddhist countries. In 2013, one thousand Indian Buddhists protested at the site demanding full control. Leaders included Bhante Anand and Japanese-born Surai Sasai who became prominent figures in the campaign. The temple's head monk Bhikkhu Bodhipala resigned in 2007 after being charged with cutting tree branches to sell to foreigners for significant amounts of money.

• 7. Contemporary Management And Security

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  In early 2013, Thai organizers launched a fundraising initiative to gild the temple's upper finial with gold. The project required permissions from Indian authorities and used approximately 289 kg of gold donations. News reports described the work as covering only the top 18 feet of the 180-foot-high structure. On the 7th of July 2013, ten low-intensity bombs exploded in the temple complex injuring five people. One bomb was near the Buddha statue and another near the Mahabodhi Tree. Three unexploded bombs were found and defused during the early morning hours between 5:30 AM and 6:00 AM. The main temple remained undamaged despite the blasts. The National Investigation Agency announced on the 4th of November 2013 that the Islamic terrorist group Indian Mujahideen was responsible for the bombings. Intelligence Bureau officials may have alerted state officials about possible threats fifteen days prior to the attack.