Discovery , Bodh Gaya The Vajrasana, together with the remnants of the ancient temple built by Ashoka, was excavated by archaeologist
Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893), who published his discovery and related research of the
Mahabodhi Temple in his 1892 book
Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya. The Vajrasana was encased under
a massive and much posterior statue of the Buddha in the middle of the western wall of the temple.
Description As it survives now, the Vajrasana is a thick slab of polished grey
sandstone, 7 feet 10-inches long by 4 feet 7-inches broad, and 6-inches thick. The whole top surface was carved with geometrical patterns, circular in the middle, with a double border of squares. The sculpted decorations on the Diamond Throne echo the decorations found on the Pillars of Ashoka. It has decorative bands on the sides with carvings of
honeysuckles and
geese, which can also be found on several of the
pillar capitals of Ashoka, such as the
Rampurva capitals, and also pigeons on the back relief, nowadays hidden from view. (1864-1933) at the Vajrasana. The throne appears clearly in its exact shape, with supporting columns. The long frieze at the front is slightly different, and consists in stylized
lotuses with multiple
calices, alternating with "
flame palmettes" of a slightly simpler design than on the sides. A rather similar design can also be seen in
the lost frieze of the
Allahabad pillar of Ashoka. The Vajrasana has carvings on all sides, suggesting that the original temple built by Ashoka (
bodhigriha) was open on all sides, a
hammiya structure. The small statues at the foot of the throne are of a later date, probably
Kushan or
Gupta.
Ashoka relief with the Vajrasana (similar to the
Anagarika Dharmapala photograph with its supporting columns), and the
Mahabodhi Temple around the
Bodhi Tree (2nd century BCE). The Vajrasana was built by Ashoka when he first established the first Bodh Gaya temple around the
Bodhi tree, in order to mark the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment. Ashoka is thought to have visited Bodh Gaya around 260 BCE, about 10 years into his reign, as explained by his
Rock Edict number VIII. He describes his visit to Bodh Gaya, known in ancient times as Sambodhi (complete enlightenment) or Uruvela (Original ancient name of Bodh Gaya, as mentioned in Pali Canon's of the Anguttara Nikaya, of the Khuddaka Nikaya and many other Pali
Suttas (Sutras)): The throne was initially found hidden behind a bigger throne of the Kushan period, and an even bigger one, probably from the
Pala period. It is thought that the Vajrasana was initially located at the bottom of the original Bodhi tree. The slab is made of polished sandstone and dated to the time of Ashoka. This is the oldest known piece of architecture at Bodh Gaya. The relief bears the inscription: "
bhagavato sakamunino bodho" ("The Bodhi (Tree) of the divine
Shakyamuni", or "The illumination of the Blessed Shakyamuni"), thereby confirming the meaning of the relief. ==Characteristics==