Mahabodhi Temple

The Mahabodhi Temple or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya is from Gaya and is about from Patna. The site contains a tree believed to be a descendant of the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment and has been a major pilgrimage destination of Buddhists for over two thousand years. The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya is the holiest and most revered pilgrimage site for Buddhists worldwide.
Some of the site's elements date to the period of Ashoka. What is now visible on the ground dates from the 6th century CE, or possibly earlier, as well as several major restorations since the 19th century. The structure, however, also potentially incorporates large parts of earlier work, possibly from the 2nd or 3rd-century CE. Archaeological finds from the site indicate that the place was a site of veneration for Buddhists since at least the Mauryan period. In particular, the Vajrasana, which is located within the temple itself has been dated to the third-century BCE.
Many of the oldest sculptural elements have been moved to the museum beside the temple, and some, such as the carved stone railing wall around the main structure, have been replaced by replicas. The main temple's survival is especially impressive, as it was mostly made of brick covered with stucco, materials that are much less durable than stone. However, it is understood that very little of the original sculptural decoration has survived.
The temple complex includes two large straight-sided shikhara towers, the largest over 55 metres high. This is a stylistic feature that has continued in Jain and Hindu temples to the present day, and influenced Buddhist architecture in other countries, in forms like the pagoda.

History

The Buddha

Traditional accounts say that, around 589 BCE, Siddhartha Gautama, a young prince who saw the suffering of the world and wanted to end it, reached the forested banks of the Phalgu river, near the city of Gaya, India. There he sat in meditation under a peepul tree which later came to be known as the Bodhi Tree. According to Buddhist scriptures, after three days and three nights, Siddharta attained enlightenment and freedom from suffering. In that location, Mahabodhi Temple was built by Emperor Ashoka in around 260 BCE.
The Buddha then spent the succeeding seven weeks at seven different spots in the vicinity meditating and considering his experience. Several specific places at the current Mahabodhi Temple relate to the traditions surrounding these seven weeks:

The first week was spent under the Bodhi tree.
During the second week, the Buddha remained standing and stared, uninterrupted, at the Bodhi tree. This spot is marked by the Animeshlocha Stupa, that is, the unblinking stupa or shrine, to the northeast of the Mahabodhi Temple complex. There stands a statue of Buddha with his eyes fixed towards the Bodhi Tree.
The Buddha is said to have walked back and forth between the location of the Animeshlocha Stupa and the Bodhi Tree. According to legend, lotus flowers sprung up along this route; it is now called Ratnachakrama or the jewel walk.
He spent the fourth week near Ratnagar Chaitya, to the northeast side.
He spent the sixth week next to the Lotus pond.
He spent the seventh week under the Rajyatna tree.
Mahabodhi tree

The Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya is said to be a direct descendant of the original tree at Bodh Gaya that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, meditated under when he attained enlightenment or omniscient wisdom. The temple was built directly to the east of the tree.
According to Buddhist mythology, if no Bodhi tree grows at the site, the ground around the Bodhi tree is devoid of all plants for a distance of one royal karīsa. Through the ground around the Bodhi tree no being, not even an elephant, can travel.
According to the Jatakas, the navel of the earth lies at this spot, and no other place can support the weight of the Buddha's attainment. Another Buddhist tradition claims that when the world is destroyed at the end of a kalpa, the Bodhimanda is the last spot to disappear, and will be the first to appear when the world emerges into existence again. Tradition also claims that a lotus will bloom there, and if a Buddha is born during the new kalpa, the lotus flowers bloom in accordance with the number of Buddhas expected to arise. According to legend, in the case of Gautama Buddha, a Bodhi tree sprang up on the day he was born.

Mauryan establishment

In approximately 250 BCE, about 200 years after the Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment, Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire visited Bodh Gaya in order to establish a monastery and shrine on the holy site, which has today disappeared.
There remains however the Diamond throne, which he had established at the foot of the Bodhi Tree. The Diamond throne, or Vajrasana, is thought to have been built by Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire between 250 and 233 BCE, at the location where the Buddha reached enlightenment. It is worshipped today, and is the centre of many festivities at the temple.
Representations of the early temple structure meant to protect the Bodhi Tree are found at Sanchi, on the toraṇas of Stūpa I, dating from around 25 BCE, and on a relief carving from the stupa railing at Bhārhut, from the early Shunga period.

Sunga structures

Columns with pot-shaped bases

Additional structures were brought in by the Sungas. In particular, columns with pot-shaped bases were found around the Diamond throne. These columns are thought to date to the 1st century BCE, towards the end of the Sungas. These columns, which were found through archaeological research at the Buddha's Walk in the Mahabodhi Temple, quite precisely match the columns described on the reliefs found on the gateway pillars.

Railings

The railings around the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya are ancient. They are old sandstone posts dating about 150 BCE, during the Sunga period. There are carved panels as well as medallions, with many scenes similar to those of the contemporary Sunga railings at Bharhut and Sanchi, although the reliefs at Sanchi Stupa No.2 are often considered the oldest of all. The railing was extended during the following century, down to the end of Gupta period, with coarse granite decorated with elaborate foliate ornaments and small figures as well as stupas. Many parts of the initial railing have been dismantled and are now in museums, such as the Indian Museum in Kolkata, and have been replaced by plaster copies.

Gupta period

While Asoka is considered the Mahabodhi Temple's founder, the current pyramidal structure dates from the Gupta Empire, in the 5th–6th century CE, and influenced later Hindu temple architecture in brick.
However, this may represent a restoration of earlier work of the 2nd or 3rd century: a plaque from Kumrahar dated 150–200 CE, based on its dated Kharoshthi inscriptions and combined finds of Huvishka coins, already shows the Mahabodhi Temple in its current shape with a stepped truncated pyramid and a small hemispherical stupa with finials on top. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations in Bodh Gaya.
It is thought that the temple in the shape of a truncated pyramid was derived from the design of the stepped stupas which had developed in Gandhara. The Mahabodhi Temple adapted the Gandharan design of a succession of steps with niches containing Buddha images, alternating with Greco-Roman pillars, and top by a stupa, as seen in the stupas of Jaulian. The structure is crowned by the shape of a hemispherical stupa topped by finials, forming a logical elongation of the stepped Gandharan stupas.
This truncated pyramid design also marked the evolution from the aniconic stupa dedicated to the cult of relics, to the iconic temple with multiple images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. This design was very influential in the development of later Hindu temples. The "shikhara" tower with an amalaka near the top is today considered more characteristic of Hindu temples.

Patronage

Throughout its history, the Mahabodhi Temple has been the sight of patronage from various sources. Faxian in the 5th century, stated that there were three monasteries built around the temple complex with monks residing in them. These monks were supported by local people who provided them with food and other necessities.
The patronage came from both within and outside of India. The vast number of votive stupas and sculptures that have been found within the Mahabodhi Temple complex are testament to this. A sixth-century donative record of a Sri Lankan monk named Mahānāman states that a temple was built at the Bodhimaṇḍa and attests to ties between the Mahabodhi Temple and Sri Lanka.
File:Bodhgaya Chinese inscription.jpg|thumb|180px|Bodhgaya Chinese inscription of Huaiwen dated 1033 CE who arrived on behald of Emperor Zhenzong of Song dynasty
From the eleventh-century onwards, patronage increased from countries like Tibet, China, Sri Lanka and Burma. King Kyansittha sent the first Burmese expedition to the Mahabodhi Temple during this period. Three additional missions also took place up to the fourteenth century. The purpose of these missions seems to have been to carry out repairs on the temple structure while also sending gifts among which were musical instruments. Donations also came from non-royal sources. So far, five Chinese inscriptions have been found at the temple complex which records gifts by Chinese monks in the eleventh century. One of these monks stated in their inscription that they were sent on behalf of the Song Emperor. Local polities like the Pithipatis of Magadha who were based in Bodh Gaya also played a role in patronising the temple.