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Two thousand years ago a prince named Gautama Siddhartha relinquished his princely life for the path of truth and happiness. He became a monk and tried to gain the divine knowledge through fasting and asceticism but failed. He broke his fast by milk and honey offered by a young woman. He then sat in meditation under a Pipal tree vowing not to move till he achieves divine enlightenment. Under this pipal or Bodhi Tree, Bodhgaya he received the Divine Enlightenment and came to be known as Lord Buddha. The Bodhi Tree, Bodhgaya is located in the temple premises of the famous Mahabodhi Temple. The tree itself in not the actual tree but a descendant of the original Bodhi Tree. One tradition says that the Emperor Asoka's wife destroyed the actual tree out of jealousy since he devoted too much time on the tree. It is agreed that the actual tree died and another was planted there using its sapling taken from Sri Lanka. Around the 3rd century B.C Sanghamitta, daughter of Emperor Asoka brought a branch of this Bodhi tree and planted it in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka where it still grows today. The present tree is more than 122 years old and was planted as a sapling brought from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The Bodhi Tree, Bodhgaya is surrounded by quadrangular stone railings of two types representing two different style and material. The older railings are made of sandstone dating to 150 B.C while the newer ones are made up of granite dating to 300-600 A.D. Lotus motifs are found in most of the railings. The tree is very significant and sacred to all Buddhists and majority of these trees in monasteries and Buddhist homes are descendants of the Bodhi tree. The Bodhi Tree was often used as an image of Lord Buddha during in early Buddhist art.
Come and see this truly historical and yet sacred Bodhi Tree at Bodhgaya and become a part of this enlightened journey.
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