With Buddha at Bodh Gaya

A 1000 Buddhas of the present kalpa have and will realize Buddhahood at Bodh Gaya.
Bodh Gaya is a fairy city with beautiful temples and pagodas.

On the road to Bodh Gaya

The road from Gaya to Bodh Gaya is a smooth drive. Flanked by the river Phalgu and beautiful greens; white and pink water-lilies smiling from small and large ponds, the road in itself is quite a nerve-calmer.

12 km from Gaya railway-station, and 92 km from Patna, the nearest airport and capital of Bihar, Bodh Gaya is easy to reach by road.

Fairy City

Bodh Gaya is a fairy city with beautiful temples and pagodas. It is truly an amalgamation of sorts with architectural and cultural representations, centuries old, from almost the whole of the Eastern world. Bodh Gaya, the seat of Gautam Buddha's enlightenment acclaims International devotion and regard.

His preaching encompassed the whole of the Eastern world, and to date are valued as Mahayana, Hinayana Buddhism as well as ties with all the Eastern lines of philosophy such as Shinto and Taoism.

From birth to Mahanirvana

Mahabodhi Peepal treeGautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, became enlightened at Bodh Gaya and attained Mahanirvana in Kushinagar, but all three took place on Vaisakh Purnima which we celebrate as Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti. What precision of the calendar for three landmark events in a single life-span!

The millenia old Bodhi tree

The Mahabodhi Peepal tree, meditating under which, he found The Truth of Existence and beyond, still stands, after much doctoring and nurturing over two thousand five hundred years. In 288BC, a sapling was taken from the original Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka, which still survives there amidst reverence and regard.

Mahabodhi tree and prayer flags at Bodh Gaya

Mahabodhi temple

Temple deity, Mahabodhi temple, Bodh Gaya

The Mahabodhi temple is an illustrious structure in sandstone. The smiling Buddha seated in its inner sanctum, blesses devotees and visitors. Offerings of lotus and water lilies, along with Kheer, biscuits and dry-fruit lie at the altar, in tribute to the Sakya Muni Gautam Buddha. Incense wafts through the precincts of the temple, as also holy chanting by Lamas and other pilgrims.

Lessons for life

Bodh Gaya temple premises Buddha preached 'Appo Deepo Bhav' be your own light to his disciples as he breathed his last at age 80. He believed in the innate power of man. He discovered for himself the knowledge which leads to freedom in life and death, and inspired others to break free from fetters of ignorance, malice, laziness, deceit and cowardice, and find and greet the truth for themselves. With compassion in his heart, and constant endeavour to improve the state of his fellow beings, Buddha was a karmayogi, a true ideal for humanity in present times.

Ancient yet modern, the Buddha has the last laugh!


Travel guide: Bodh Gaya

Nearest Railway station: Gaya 12 km

Nearest Airport: Patna 92 km

Map: Bodh Gaya


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Anisha Sharma
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