Mahabodhi Temple : The Bodhgaya Stupa, or
Mahabodhi Vihara as it is also
known, was erected in the place where
Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment some two thousand five
hundred years ago. Its origins are lost in time, but it is known
that King Ashoka erected a shrine to Buddha here in the third
century B.C.
In spite of extensive research by scholars, until this day no one
has been able to give a definate date as to when this present temple
was built, who constructed it or how long it took to be completed.
It is generally believed that the Great Stupa must have come into
existence between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D.
A relief from an older Stupa railing dated about 100BC gives an
indication of what the early temple at Bodhgaya looked like; a two
storied structure with a gabled roof built around the Bodi Tree and
supported by pillars. Inside a slab of stone, the Vajrasana (indestructable
seat of enlightenment) sat by the decorated trunk of the Bodhi tree,
behind which were two Tiratana symbols. This temple was probably
called Vajrasana Gandhakuti and may have stood for several
centuries, being repaired and added to from time to time.
