By that time Buddhism had declined in influence. The temple was under worship until the 13th century when it fell into disuse. Fahien and Hieun Tsang, the Chinese travellers who visited in 5th and 7th century respectively, recorded the existence of the Bodhi tree and the railing around it. The temple was later rebuilt, and the present structure is datable to the late Gupta period - 6th century CE. The Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa or Peepal tree) under which the Buddha is believed to have meditated and attained enlightenment is located within this temple complex and venerated.Įmperor Ashoka built the first temple near Bodhi tree during the 3rd Century BCE, almost 300 years after Buddha’s period (566-486 B.C.E). It is here Siddharth the restless and inquisitive prince turned Buddha, the enlightened. The other three, Lumbini, where he was born Kusinagar, where he attained Mahaparinirvana and Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon, are equally important, but Bodh Gaya is special. Among the four places held most sacred by Buddhists, the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya, located about 115 km south of Patna, is the most visited.
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