SRP Travels is a travel company based in New Delhi with a branch office in Nangloi. It specializes in providing tours related to Indian culture, including to religious sites like Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. Bodh Gaya is located in Bihar and is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists, housing the historic Mahabodhi Temple complex which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.
4. Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place
of pilgrimage associated with the
Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya
district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is
famous as it is the place where
Gautama Buddha is said to have
5. obtained Enlightenment (Bodhimandala)
under what became known as the Bodhi
Tree.[1]
For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most
important of the main four pilgrimage
sites related to the life of Gautama
Buddha, the other three being
Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. In
2002, Mahabodhi Temple, located in
Bodh Gaya, became a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.[2]
Contents bodhgaya bihar (srp
travels)
1 History
6. 2 Mahabodhi Temple
3 Other Buddhist temples
4 Mahabodhi Temple Serial Blasts
5 Demographics
6 Transportatio
1 History
Bodh Gaya is the most holy
place for the followers of the
Buddhist faith all over the
world. Situated by the bank of
7. river Neranjana the place was
then known as Uruwela. King
Ashoka was the first to build a
temple here.[3]
Traditionally, Buddha was born
in 563 BC in what is now Nepal
[4][5]
on the following auspicious
Baisakhi purnima. As
Siddhartha, he renounced his
family at the age of 29 in 534
BC [6][7]
and travelled and
meditated in search of truth.
After meditating for six years at
8. Urubela (Buddhagaya) in Gaya,
he attained Buddhatva or
enlightenment. Enlightenment
is a state of having infinite
knowledge, and being able to
accomplish the Noble and
Universal truths. By gaining
enlightenment, you enter
Nibbana, in which the final
stage is Parinibbana.
At this place, the Buddha was
abandoned by the five men
who had been his companions
9. of earlier austerities. All they
saw was an ordinary man; they
mocked his well-nourished
appearance. "Here comes the
mendicant Gautama," they said,
"who has turned away from
asceticism. He is certainly not
worth our respect." When they
reminded him of his former
vows, the Buddha replied,
"Austerities only confuse the
mind. In the exhaustion and
mental stupor to which they
10. lead, one can no longer
understand the ordinary things
of life, still less the truth that
lies beyond the senses. I have
given up extremes of either
luxury or asceticism. I have
discovered the Middle Way".
This is the path which isneither
easy (a rich prince) nor hard
(living in austere conditions
practicing self-denial). Hearing
this, the five ascetics became
the Buddha's first disciples in
11. Deer Park, Sarnath, 13 km n.e.
of Benares.
The disciples of Gautama
Siddhartha began to visit the
place during the full moon in
the month of Vaisakh (April–
May), as per the Hindu
calendar. Over time, the place
became known as Bodh Gaya,
the day of enlightenment as
Buddha Purnima, and the tree
as the Bodhi Tree.
12. The history of Bodh Gaya is
documented by many
inscriptions and pilgrimage
accounts. Foremost among
these are the accounts of the
Chinese pilgrims Faxian in the
5th century and Xuanzang in
the 7th century. The area was
at the heart of a Buddhist
civilization for centuries, until it
was conquered by Turkic
armies in the 13th century. The
place-name, Bodh Gaya, did not
13. come into use until the 18th
century CE. Historically, it was
known as Uruvela, Sambodhi,
Vajrasana or Mahabodhi.[8]
The
main monastery of Bodh Gaya
used to be called the
Bodhimanda-vihāra (Pali). Now
it is called the Mahabodhi
Temple.
Five bombs were detonated in
Mahabodhi temple premises on
July 7, 2013. 4 bombs were also
14. detonated in town while three
were defused.
*Mahabodhi Temple
Main article: Mahabodhi
Temple
The complex, located about
110 kilometres from Patna, at
24°41′43″N 84°59′38″E,[9]
contains the Mahabodhi
Temple with the diamond
15. throne (called the Vajrasana)
and the holy Bodhi tree. This
tree was originally a sapling of
the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri
Lanka, itself grown from a
sapling of the original Bodhi
tree.
It is believed that about 280
years after the Enlightenment
of the Buddha, Emperor Ashoka
visited Bodh Gaya. He is
considered to be the founder
of the original Mahabodhi
16. temple. It consisted of an
elongated spire crowned by a
miniature stupa and a
chhatravali on a platform. A
double flight of steps led up to
the platform and the upper
sanctum. The mouldings on the
spire contained Buddha images
in niches. Some historians
believe that the temple was
constructed or renovated in the
1st century during the Kushan
period. With the decline of
17. Buddhism in India, the temple
was abandoned and forgotten,
buried under layers of soil and
sand.
The temple was later restored
by Sir Alexander Cunningham
in the late 19th century.[citation
needed]
In 1883, Cunningham
along with J. D. Beglar and Dr
Rajendralal Miitra painstakingly
excavated the site. Extensive
renovation work was carried
out to restore Bodh Gaya to its
18. former glory. It has a height of
55 metres which can be viewed
from a distance of 11 km
metres which can be viewed from
a distance of 11 km.
*Other Buddhist temples
19. Kittisirimegha of Sri Lanka, a
contemporary of Samudragupta,
erected with the permission of
Samudragupta, a Sanghārāma
near the Mahābodhi-vihāra, chiefly
for the use of the Singhalese
monks who went to worship the
Bodhi tree. The circumstances in
connection with the Sanghārāma
are given by Xuanzang (Beal, op.
cit., 133ff) who gives a description
of it as seen by himself. It was
probably here that Buddhaghosa
20. met the Elder Revata who
persuaded him to come to Ceylon.
Several Buddhist temples and
monasteries have been built by
the people of Bhutan, China,
Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim,
Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet
and Vietnam in a wide area
around the Mahabodhi Temple.
These buildings reflect the
architectural style, exterior and
interior decoration of their
respective countries. The statue of
21. Buddha in the Chinese temple is
200 years old and was brought
from China. Japan's Nippon
temple is shaped like a pagoda.
The Myanmar (Burmese) temple is
also pagoda shaped and is
reminiscent of Bagan. The Thai
temple has a typical sloping,
curved roof covered with golden
tiles. Inside, the temple holds a
massive bronze statue of Buddha.
Next to the Thai temple is 25
meter statue of Buddha [10]
22. located within a garden which has
existed there for over 100 years.
*Mahabodhi Temple Serial Blasts
See also: 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts
On 7 July 2013 at around 5.15
a.m. a low intensity bomb blast
took place in the 1500 year old
Mahabodhi Temple complex. This
was followed by a series of nine
23. low intensity blasts and at least
two monks are reported to be
injured, one Tibetan and the other
a Burmese. These blasts were
carried out by an Islamic terrorist
organisation, to seek revenge for
the killings of Muslims in Burma.
The serial blasts did not cause any
damage to the temple or the tree
under which Buddha attained
enlightenment. Two other bombs,
one under the 80-foot statue of
the Buddha and the other near
24. Karmapa Temple were defused by
the police. The statue of the
Buddha is now a symbol of the
holy place Bodh Gaya, next to the
Mahabodhi Temple, a World
Heritage site.[11][12]
Investigation of
the blast was given to NIA
(National Investigating Agency).
Three unexploded bombs were
also found in the Temple complex.
Demographics
25. As of 2001 India census,[13]
Bodh
Gaya had a population of 30,883.
Males constitute 54% of the
population and females 46%.
Bodh Gaya has an average literacy
rate of 51%, lower than the
national average of 59.5%; with
male literacy of 63% and female
literacy of 38%. 8% of the
population is under 6 years of
age.
26. *Transportation
Bodhgaya is about 12 km from
Gaya City. The NH83 Highway
connects Gaya and Bodh Gaya.
The State Tourism Department
provides travel facility from
Patna to Bodh Gaya.
Regular train and bus service
for Gaya are available from
Kolkata, which is an overnight
journey.
27. Regular AC Buses have been
introduced by BSTDC between
Patna and Bodh Gaya via
Rajgir.[14]
A special caravan service called
Wonder on Wheel, between
Patna and Bodh Gaya, has been
introduced by Bihar Tourism
Deptt.[15]
*Gaya International Airport
Bodh Gaya International Airport is
situated 7 km from Bodh Gaya
