The Mahabodhi Temple: The Land Of Enlightenment

Gayatri Priyadarshini Nayak

The Mahabodhi Temple: The Land Of Enlightenment

Gautama Buddha, a name everyone must have heard about and many must have known his life story. But not many are aware of the existence of the holiest place in the world in Buddhist pilgrimage which is present in India, in a small city of Bihar, named Bodhgaya. The place where Gautama realised the ultimate truth of life and became Buddha. The Mahabodhi temple was built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE which is the epitome of the sustainability of Indian architecture.

The Land Of Enlightment; “Image Source: study.com”

The architecture of India is always astonishing to see. Be it the temples or palaces; it will surely amaze you. The land of the rich variety in culture has always brought different things into the limelight. The earliest architecture of India is found in the Buddha stupas, viharas, and chaityas.

“Buddhism, which is a famous religion now, is a path to the way of living. The path in which people get aware of the truths of life. Also, it started as a protest against unnecessary rituals and ceremonies which characterise Hinduism. Buddhism has spread all around the world without any military crusade.”

Lord Buddha who has been worshipped in other countries was born in India to king Shuddhodhana. A pampered kid from childhood, he never knew the sufferings of a commoner. After leaving his palace he searched for the truth of life, and after living for six long years as a homeless ascetic and seeing guidance from two Brahmins about the technique of meditation and Sankhya philosophy. However, he found no satisfaction and continued self atonement and it was when he was on verge of death that he took milk from a milkmaid and sat under a peepal tree where he attained enlightenment near the Niranjana river at Bodh Gaya. The place where the Mahabodhi temple is built is one of the holiest sites when it comes to Buddhists pilgrimage. It is also called the LAND OF ENLIGHTENMENT. The temple was built 200 years after Buddha attained enlightenment, by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Ashoka too adopted Buddhism and decided to spread Buddhism to far and wide areas.

The temple is entirely built with bricks and later on, it was modified by the Guptas. The Bodhi temple is 55 meters long in height and there are 4 towers around the central temple identical to it but smaller in size which is adorned with an umbrella-like dome structure at the top. The statue inside the Mahabodhi temple is made up of black stone and is been painted in gold which is in the earth-touching posture. This statue was built by the Pala kings of Bengal. On the top of the Mahabodhi temple, one can see the golden tomb made of gold.

It's said that the fourth week was spent in Ratnagar chaitya, a beautiful jeweled chamber inside which he sat and meditated. His body and mind became so pure that the six rays of colour started radiating from his body. In Buddhism too, the color blue, red yellow, white, orange, and a colour mixture of all these 5, represent various noble qualities and that is the reason the Buddhist flag is a mixture of all these colours.

In the fifth week, Buddha sat under a banyan tree answering the questions of Brahmanas and where he replied to a Brahmana that a person becomes Brahmana by his deeds and not by birth. A pillar is placed there as the tree is no more.

After that, Buddha sat under the Mucalinda tree. It is believed that in the sixth week of Buddha’s meditation, a storm broke out, with strong winds. In order to protect Buddha from the storm while he kept meditating, the Naagaraaj Mucalinda came out from the lake for his safety.

During the seventh week, he spent his days meditating under the Rajyatna tree. On the last day, two merchants took refuge in this very place and were said to be his first followers.

This sacred place of Buddhist pilgrimage was once again taken care of by the Pala Empire between the 9th to 12th centuries after the decline of the Guptas. However, the temple was abandoned after the Sena dynasty, who were defeated by the Delhi Sultan, Bakhtiyar Khilji.

Later on, it was restored by the Britishers in the 19th century and has been maintained till date. It was in the year 2002 that Mahabodhi Temple was declared as the world heritage site by UNESCO.

The Bodhi tree inside the Bodhi temple complex is the 5th descendant of the Bodhi tree. The Vajrasana, an ancient stone slab is placed under the Bodhi tree by Ashoka to mark the exact place where he attained enlightenment.

There are stupas and shrines built around the complex to depict the 7 weeks which were spent by the Buddha there.

The first week was spent by Buddha under the Bodhi tree where he experienced the happiness and calmness of freedom from all the disturbing thoughts.

The second week was spent in a prayer hall, called Animeshlochan chaitya gazing at the Bodhi tree without moving his eyes in thanks and gratitude for the tree that provided him shelter in his meditation. That's why the Buddhist pilgrims pay homage to the descendants of the Bodhi tree also.

It's been said that in the third week; to prove whether he has attained enlightenment or not to the devas in heaven, he built a golden bridge in the air and walked eighteen steps back and forth. That is called Ratnachakra where Buddha’s every step is marked by the lotus carved on a stone.