Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya, also spelled Bodh Gaya of Buddh Gaya, is a village in Gaya district of the state of Bihar in India. It is the place where Gautama Buddha (560 BC — 480 BC) attained enlightenment. This holy place is situated near the holy city of Gaya. The tree that had sheltered him came to be known as the Bodhi tree and the place Bodhgaya. Today Bodhgaya, an important place of pilgrimage, has a number of monasteries, some of them established by Buddhists of Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc.

Bodhgaya is considered the most important and sacred Buddhist pilgrimage center of the world.

There is a magnificent Mahabodhi temple. The tree under which Lord Buddha got enlightenment is still there in the temple premises. The temple is an architectural amalgamation of many centuries, cultures and heritages. While its architecture has a distinct stamp of the Gupta era, it has later ages inscriptions describing visits of pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and China between 7th and 10th century AD. It is perhaps still the same temple Hieuen Tsang visited in 7th century.