Bodhgaya

Published on 24th July, 2016, in Mumbai Mirror. Have you heard of Bodhiraksita? He is the first 'documented' pilgrim in Indian history. According to local inscriptions, he travelled from Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE, to Bodhgaya, in Bihar, located a 100 kilometres from modern Patna, to see the famous bodhi or pipal tree under which Buddha got his enlightenment. Of course, during his visit, he would not have seen the 180 feet tall pyramidal Mahabodhi temple, full of images of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, fierce gods and goddesses such as Yamantaka and Vajravarahi who are part of later Mahayana and Tantrik Buddhism. This brick structure ..