MAHABODHI TEMPLE

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mahabodhi Temple complex, the "Great Illumination", is the main attraction of the state of Bihar. In the middle of the park, the temple stands 55 meters above the ground. Built between the ^1st and ^3rd centuries on the site of an ancient temple built by Ashoka in the ^3rd century BC, it was renovated in 1882. Hundreds of Buddhas in different attitudes are carved on the walls; inside, there is a golden statue of Buddha. The pippal fig tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment no longer exists, but behind the temple a shoot of the bodhi tree has been replanted. Mahindra and Sanghamitra, the two children of Emperor Ashoka, took a branch of the tree under which Buddha received enlightenment to Sri Lanka. Placed in the ground, the fig tree grew in Anuradhapura and a shoot from this tree was brought back to Bodhgaya when the tree of enlightenment died.

Under the present tree, the rock protected by an orange canopy is said to be the Diamond Throne, seat of Buddha. Many small stupas are scattered in the garden and every minute thousands of prayers inscribed on the colored cloths fly to the heavens.

Admire also the devotees engaged in a much more sportive prayer. In the middle of the pool, do not confuse Buddha with Shiva! According to the legend, Buddha spent the sixth week of his enlightenment here. To prevent him from meditating, Maya (the goddess of Chaos) triggered a storm and Muchalinda the snake-king rose from the water to protect Buddha.

In 1956, the 2500 years of Buddhism gave a new impetus to Bodhgaya. Several Buddhist communities and countries built a temple here in their own architectural style. The Thai and Tibetan temples are the most remarkable. The Japanese have done things in a big way by building the Daibutsu, a large Buddha of 25 m sitting in lotus and inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in 1989.

They plan to build a "skyscraper" statue in Kushinagar, the last home of Buddha in Uttar Pradesh. They are also the ones who financed the bridge over the river inaugurated on November 8, 1998. On the other bank, you will discover a small temple dedicated to Sujata. This woman, excluded from the village, offered some food to Prince Shakyamuni who was weakened by his long penance. It would be after having eaten that the future Buddha discovered the Middle Way.

To see also: the giant Buddha of 8 meters, as well as the Bhutanese, Japanese, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Chinese temples.