Bodh Gaya at Bodh Gaya around the Bodhi Tree. Sculpture of the
Satavahana period at
Sanchi, 1st century CE. The Bodhi Tree at the
Mahabodhi Temple—revered as the
Sri Maha Bodhi—marks the sacred site where
Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment (
bodhi) while meditating beneath its branches. According to
Buddhist texts, around 528 BCE, Gautama seated himself beneath a
Ficus religiosa at Uruvela (present-day
Bodh Gaya, India). Resolving not to rise until he had realized the ultimate truth, he entered a state of profound meditation. After that night, he attained
Sambodhi (full enlightenment), thereby becoming the Buddha—the "Awakened One". The spot was used as a shrine even during the Buddha's lifetime. Emperor
Ashoka, a devoted patron of Buddhism, visited Bodh Gaya about two centuries later and built a stone
balustrade and temple complex around the sacred tree, establishing the Mahabodhi Temple that stands there today. His queen,
Tissarakkhā, was jealous of the tree, and three years after she became queen (in the nineteenth year of Ashoka's reign), she ordered it to be killed. Every time the tree was destroyed, however, a new one was planted in the same place, and a monastery was constructed at the
Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha. The monastery was called
Bodhimanda Vihara (
bodhimaṇḍa refers to a "seat of awakening", while
vihāra is a Buddhist temple). In 1862, the British archaeologist
Alexander Cunningham wrote of the site as the first entry in the first volume published by the
Archaeological Survey of India: The celebrated Bodhi tree still exists, but is very much decayed; one large stem, with three branches to the westward, is still green, but the other branches are barkless and rotten. The green branch perhaps belongs to some younger tree, as there are numerous stems of apparently different trees clustered together. The tree must have been renewed frequently, as the present
Pipal is standing on a terrace at least 30 feet above the level of the surrounding country. It was in full vigour in 1811, when seen by
Dr. Buchanan (Hamilton), who describes it as in all probability not exceeding 100 years of age. However, the tree decayed further, and in 1876, what remained of it was destroyed in a storm. Cunningham wrote that the young scion of the parent tree was already in existence to take its place. Since 2007, the
Forest Research Institute of India has assisted in the upkeep of the Mahabodhi tree. Various measures have been taken to protect the health of the tree, and cloning was considered in 2008.
Jetavana, Uttar Pradesh and
Diamond throne in Bodh Gaya, built circa 250 BCE. The inscription between the
chaitya arches reads: "Bhagavato Sakamunino/ bodho", meaning "the building round the Bodhi tree of the Holy
Sakamuni".
Bharhut frieze (circa 100 BCE). It is said that in the ancient Buddhist texts, in order for people to make offerings in the name of the Buddha when he was away on pilgrimage, the Buddha sanctioned the planting of a seed from the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya in front of the gateway of
Jetavana Monastery, near Sravasti. For this purpose,
Moggallana took a fruit from the tree as it dropped from its stalk, before it reached the ground. It was planted in a golden jar by
Anathapindika, with great pomp and ceremony. A sapling immediately sprouted forth, fifty
cubits high, and in order to consecrate it, the Buddha spent one night under it in meditation. This tree, because it was planted under the direction of
Ananda, came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi.
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka King Ashoka's daughter
Sanghamittā Theri brought a piece of the tree with her to
Ceylon, where it continues to grow in the island's ancient capital of
Anuradhapura. According to the
Mahāvaṃsa, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BCE, making it the oldest verified specimen of any
angiosperm. In this year (the twelfth year of King Ashoka's reign), the right branch of the Bodhi Tree was brought by Sanghamittā to Anurādhapura and placed by the left foot of
Devanampiya Tissa. The Buddha, on his deathbed, had resolved five things, one being that the branch to be taken to Ceylon should detach itself.
Chennai, India In 1950,
Jinarajadasa took three saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhi to plant two in
Chennai, India: one near the Buddhist temple at the
Theosophical Society and the other at the riverside of
Adyar Creek. The third sapling was planted near a meditation center in Sri Lanka.
Trấn Quốc, Hanoi, Vietnam In 1959, to mark a visit to Vietnam by the first president of India,
Rajendra Prasad, a cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya was gifted, and it presently stands on the grounds of
Trấn Quốc Pagoda in Hanoi.
Thousand Oaks, California In 2012, the Bangladeshi philanthropist Brahmanda Pratap Barua took a sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Bodh Gaya, to
Thousand Oaks, California, where he presented it to his benefactor, Anagarika Glenn Hughes, who had funded much Buddhist work and teaches Buddhism in the United States.
Nihon-ji, Japan In 1989, the government of India presented the temple of
Nihon-ji with a sapling from the Bodhi Tree as a gesture of world peace.
Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, India A Bodhi tree was planted at the
Deekshabhoomi Buddhist monument in Nagpur, India, from three branches of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka.
Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan brought the branches from Sri Lanka as a memorial of Buddha's enlightenment. The site is holy to
Navayana Buddhism, as it is the place where the Indian political leader
B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, along with 600,000 followers, on 14 October 1956, during the
Dhammachakra Pravartan Din festival.
Quezon City, Philippines A sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Anuradhapura was planted on 15 May 2011 at Wisdom Park in
New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines, by
D. M. Jayaratne, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and Mariano S. Yupitun, founder of Universal Wisdom Foundation Inc.
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia A sapling of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree was sent in 2022 to the
Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, the largest stupa in the Western world, near
Bendigo in central Victoria, Australia.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia A sapling of the Bodhi tree from Anuradhapura was planted in April 2008 at Kurilpa Point, the site of the
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, by the artist
Lee Mingwei, as the centerpiece to his "Bhodi Tree Project".
Brazil There are two descendants of the Bodhi Tree in Brazil: one in the Busshinji temple, the head temple of
Sōtō in Latin America, in
São Paulo, and another in the Sōtō temple Daissenji, in
Florianópolis.
South Korea A sapling from the Mahabodhi tree in Bodh Gaya was given to South Korea in 2022 as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. It was planned to eventually be planted at a Buddhist temple.
Mahabodhi trees of other Buddhas Following is a list of the various Mahabodhi trees under which all of the Buddhas known to
Theravada Buddhism attained
buddhahood: ==Bodhi Day==