Bodh Gaya

Bodh Gayā
Town
Great Buddha Statue
Great Buddha Statue
Bodh Gayā is located in Bihar
Bodh Gayā
Bodh Gayā
Bodh Gayā is located in India
Bodh Gayā
Bodh Gayā
Coordinates: 24°41′42″N 84°59′33″E / 24.6950°N 84.9925°E / 24.6950; 84.9925
Country India
StateBihar
DistrictGaya
Area
(2015)[A 1]
 • City20.2 km2 (7.8 sq mi)
 • Regional planning83.78 km2 (32.35 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total
48,184
Languages
 • OfficialHindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
824231
Vehicle registrationBR-02
  1. ^ Constituents of Bodh Gaya Plannina area are Bodh Gaya Nagar Panchayat, 32 villages in Bodh Gaya CD block and 3 villages in Gaya CD block of Gaya district.[1]
Translations of
Bodh Gayā
Bengaliবুদ্ধ গয়া
Burmeseဗုဒ္ဓဂါယာ
Chinese菩提伽耶
(Pinyin: Pútíjiāyé)
IndonesianBodh Gaya
Japaneseブッダガヤ/仏陀伽耶
(Rōmaji: Buddagaya)
Korean부다가야
(RR: Budagaya)
Monဗုဒ္ဓဂါယာ
Sinhalaබුද්ධගයා
Tibetanབྱང་ཆུབ་སྙིང་པོ་
Tamilபுத்தகயை
Thaiโพธคยา
VietnameseBodh Gaya
Glossary of Buddhism

Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment (Pali: bodhi) under what became known as the Bodhi Tree.[2] Since antiquity, Bodh Gayā has remained the object of pilgrimage and veneration, for both Hindus and Buddhists.[3] In particular, archaeological finds, including sculptures, show that the site was in use by Buddhists since the Mauryan period.[4] Bodh Gayā and the nearby regions were invaded and destroyed in the 12th century CE by Muslim Turk armies, led by Delhi Sultanate's Qutb al-Din Aibak and Bakhtiyar Khilji.

For Buddhists, Bodh Gayā is the most important of the four main pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha,[5] the other three being Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. In 2002, Mahabodhi Temple, located in Bodh Gayā, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[6]

  1. ^ पत्रांक-213: राजगीर क्षेत्रीय आयोजना क्षेत्र एवं बोधगया आयोजना क्षेत्र के सीमांकन एवं घोषणा (PDF). Urban Development Housing Dept., Government of Bihar, Patna. 15 April 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. ^ Gopal, Madan (1991). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 176.
  3. ^ Kinnard, Jacob. "When Is The Buddha Not the Buddha? The Hindu/Buddhist Battle over Bodhgayā and Its Buddha Image". Journal of the American Academy of Religion: 817. ISSN 0002-7189.
  4. ^ Fogelin, Lars (2015). An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism. Oxford University Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780199948239.
  5. ^ "Buddhist Pilgrimage". Asia. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Decisions adopted by the 26th Session of the World Heritage Committee" (PDF). World Heritage Committee. p. 62. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2006.