Mahabodhi Temple

The Mahabodhi Temple is one of the ancient and sacred Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya. The temple complex is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and more precisely to the attainment of Enlightenment. The temple saw its construction by the great Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and later on, underwent renovations. the present structure of the temple is thought to be from the 5th or 6th centuries. The temple is old and made up of all brick, from the late Gupta period., still in a good condition. The holy temple constitutes a total area of 4.8600 hectares of land. The holy temple comprises the 50 m high grand Temple, the Vajrasana, sacred Bodhi Tree and other six sacred sites of Buddha’s enlightenment, surrounded by numerous ancient Votive stupas. Apart from all these is a seventh sacred place, the Lotus Pond. The sacred sanctum contains a gilded statue of the Buddha (over 5ft high), posing him in sitting posture holding earth as witness to his achieved Enlightenment. There are many sections and halls inside the temple to meditate. Each section of the temple holds a holy story about the life of Buddha and his achievement of enlightenment.