Bodh Gaya
This is the place Prince Siddhartha achieved enlightenment, under the sacred Bodhi tree, and his journey to Bodh Gaya is commemorated at several locations.Prince Siddhartha first came to the Dhuneshwari Cave, 15km north of Bodhgaya, in what is now a rural village area. There is a short uphill climb to the cave, where Prince Siddhartha is believed to have meditated for 35 years, eating only one grain of rice per day
From the cave, Prince Siddhartha crossed the Niranjana River to Sujata Village, 5km north of Bodhgaya. Here there is a temple which commemorates the place where he accepted a bowl of rice from a girl named Sujata, after which the temple and village and now named.
Prince Siddhartha then continued to Bodhgaya, where he achieved enlightenment whilst meditating under a Bodhi tree. At the time, this was a forested area. Emperor Ashoka first built a temple here in the 1st century BC. The current Mahabodhi temple dates from the 19th century, and sits at the centre of a large compound. Various monuments commemorate the 7 different locations, at each of which the Lord Buddha spent a week in meditation, the first of which is the sacred Bodhi tree itself.
The Mahabodhi temple and the surrounding compound are busy throughout the day with Buddhist pilgrims, praying, and meditating. Many Hindu’s also come here, as they believe Lord Buddha to be an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.
