Gaya - World History Encyclopedia

Contents:

• BODH GAYA: THE SE OF THE BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT
• EXPLORE GAYA
• GAYA
• BODYGAYA STOCK PHOTOS AND IMAG
• GAYA
• BUDDHA GAYA ART
• GAYA
• BODH GAYA: THE SE OF THE BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT
• GAYA
• BUDDHIST TEMPLE - BODH GAYA (BIHAR) - ART AND CULTURE NOT
• JEAN GAYA ARTWORKS

BODH GAYA: THE SE OF THE BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT

Map showg the lotn of Bodh Gaya.

This extraordary place—Bodh Gaya—is unrstood to be the se of the enlightenment, or “great awakeng” (Sanskr, mahabodhi), of Siddhartha Gtama, the Buddha. More than 2, 500 years later, Bodh Gaya is a sprawlg pilgrimage town nse wh ancient, medieval, and morn shr, monasteri, templ, and hotels. At the heart of ancient Bodh Gaya is the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, which is by wh shr, monuments, and sculpted imag tablished over more than 2, 000 years.

Buddhist nventn ont of the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, 2013 (photo: Triratna_Photos, CC BY-NC 2. Siddhartha Gtama arrived at Bodh Gaya middle age, havg renounced his life as a prce on seeg the “four sights” of agg, sickns, ath, and asceticism.

EXPLORE GAYA

Buddhist tradns diverge on some of this acunt but this moment and the place at which occurred, unr the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, is signifint to all Buddhist tradns. The Bodhi Tree today at Bodh Gaya. As the place where the Buddha attaed enlightenment, Bodh Gaya appears to have bee a signifint place for Buddhists soon after the ath of the Buddha and the formatn of the Buddhist muny of monks and nuns (Sanskr, sangha) and lay people.

GAYA

Very ltle is known, however, about the earlit stctur at Bodh Gaya, and centuri of addn and alteratn make difficult to image how this se appeared at any particular moment the past. Timele of key events at Bodh Gaya (drawn by the thor).

From pictns of Bodh Gaya art datg om the 2nd century B. [2] The stone railgs enclosg a scennt of this tree at Bodh Gaya today likely date to the 1st century B.

In some Buddhist tradns Bodh Gaya self is referred to simply as the “Diamond Throne” (Sanskr, vajrasana), ditg the signifince of this throne to the inty of this sacred se. Bharhut relief wh Diamond throne and Mahabodhi Temple around the Boddhi Tree (om Sir Alexanr Cunngham, Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple unr the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya, 1892).

BODYGAYA STOCK PHOTOS AND IMAG

The empty throne unr the tree often acted as a sign for both the absent prence of the Buddha and for Bodh Gaya as a sacred se. Mahabodhi Temple today, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India (photo: manbartlett, CC BY 2.

The acunts of Che pilgrims who vised Bodh Gaya om at least the 5th century C. Onwards give historians an ia of the next phase of nstctn at Bodh Gaya.

GAYA

This broadly agre wh the scriptn of Mahabodhi Temple given by the Che pilgrim Xuanzang who vised Bodh Gaya centuri later, at the end of the 7th century C.

Depictns of the Mahabodhi Temple also suggt the creasg importance of the temple hog the Buddha image s own right as a sign for Bodh Gaya and the events there, although the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi tree ntue to be picted alongsi them.

” The scriptns, the pictns of the Mahabodhi Temple art, and other evince for royal and foreign-sponsored programs of rtoratn suggt an important shift om tree shre to the buildg of templ, shr, and monasteri at Bodh Gaya over the urse of the 1st lennium C. Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India (photo: Santosh Kumar, CC BY-SA 2.

BUDDHA GAYA ART

The towerg brick, stuc and ncrete temple seen at Bodh Gaya today pris a large primary straight-sid spire (Sanskr, shikhara), risg out of a central image chamber (Sanskr, garbha-griha).

GAYA

The late 19th-century rtoratn of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya ma signifint alteratns to the se, however. Many Mahabodhis: replitn of Bodh Gaya. An important feature of Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple Complex is s replitn across Asia.

BODH GAYA: THE SE OF THE BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT

Each of the stctur imate the form of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, though they vary style, buildg technology, and materials. It is likely that some of the replis were built om the rellectns of pilgrims, if not on even small portable artworks and “mols” rried away om Bodh Gaya such as that shown mol of the temple at The Metropolan Mm of Art. This replitn of Bodh Gaya the medieval and early morn perd Asia fds an earlier precent the acunt given the Sri Lankan chronicle (mahavamsa) which rerds how a branch of the Bodhi tree was brought to Sri Lanka and planted the cy of Anuradhapura the time of Kg Ashoka, where s scendant grows to this day.

Bodh Gaya Today.

GAYA

Internatnal tert Bodh Gaya creased om the 1880s onwards, particularly after the Archaeologil Survey of India rtored and landsped much of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE - BODH GAYA (BIHAR) - ART AND CULTURE NOT

Today at least forty different Buddhist anizatns are reprented Bodh Gaya—a town wh a mostly Hdu and Mlim populatn. Many of the sculptur found at Bodh Gaya—cludg those ed worship today—date to the time of the Pala dynasty (8th–12th century C.

And is likely that Bodh Gaya held signifince wh a work of sacred and pilgrimage s the regn, both for Buddhists and other relig muni.

JEAN GAYA ARTWORKS

It is also important to note that Bodh Gaya neighbors the major Hdu pilgrimage town of Gaya: an ancient sacred center associated wh anctor r (Sanskr, shraddha).

Relatnships at Bodh Gaya beme straed the late 19th and early 20th century, and the ownership and thory of the Mahabodhi Temple particular beme ntted. It was ially orr to “reclaim Bodh Gaya for Buddhists” that the Sri Lankan-born Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala tablished the Maha Bodhi Society Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1891. After a lengthy legal battle, the qutn of ownership of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex was partially rolved 1949 after the Indian Government assumed ntrol of the se for the State of Bihar and tablished the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Commtee (BTMC), which was posed of both Hdu and Buddhist members.

Wh the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya add to the UNESCO World Herage List 2002, rponsibily for this place shifted once aga. While s new stat as “World Herage” brought ternatnal attentn and renown to Bodh Gaya, has also ed some ncern that the spirual and votnal character of Bodh Gaya will be altered and even that Bodh Gaya will be “mmized”—s built remas beg prerved at the expense of the range of sacred, votnal, and archectural practic that have characterized the place for more than 2, 000 years. Bodh Gaya has a long and plex history.