GAYA

GAYA is the chief town of a district of the same name in the state of Bihar in India. It is headquarters of Gaya district. It is situated on the Phalgu, 57 miles south of Patna. It is a great centre of pilgrimage for Hindus, and has associations with Buddha. About a million pilgrims visit it annually.

Gaya is an ancient place of pilgrimage for Hindus. People go there to perform a religious rite called Tarpan for ancestors on the banks of river Phalgu. Pretshila is an important hill there which is considered to be abode of Yam, the god of death.

The famous Bodhgaya is situated nearby which is a world famous pilgrimage centre for Buddhists. It is here, Lord Buddha had got enlightenment under a Bo tree. The tree is still here in the premises of the Buddha Temple. The tree in known as Bodhi tree.