Buddhagaya
Buddhagaya
[仏陀伽耶] (Skt, Pali; Jpn Buddagaya)
The place where Shakyamuni attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Today it is called Bodh Gaya or Buddh Gaya. Located about ten kilometers south of Gaya in the state of Bihar, northeastern India, Bodh Gaya is one of the four sacred sites connected with Shakyamuni; the other three are Lumbini, his birthplace; Deer Park, where he gave his first sermon; and Kushinagara, near the site of his death, or entry into nirvana. Bodh Gaya is located west of the Lilaja River, or the NairanjanaRiver, in which Shakyamuni immersed himself after having renounced ascetic practices. In Bodh Gaya stands a massive pyramid-shaped Buddhist monument known as the Mahabodhi temple, which measures about fifty meters high. Its origins are assigned to a simple shrine built by King Ashoka to mark the location of bodhi tree. It was rebuilt and enlarged in the sixth century C.E.
