The Mahabodhi Mahavihara is very famous throughout the history. This is the place where Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, as we know him achieved enlightenment. It was built by Maharaja Asoka in the 3rd century BC. Presently it has been honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Mahabodhi temple is said to be substantially similar to the stupa initially built here by Emperor Ashoka. The temple enshrines a huge Buddha statue, seated in the cross-legged, earth-touching pose, over the spot, the place where Budhha had attained Nirvana. Mahabodhi statue is believed to be an exact likeness of the Buddha himself and is the most revered statue in the Buddhist world.
The Holy Bodhi tree (the Peepal tree) under which Buddha attained enlightenment, stands on the west of the temple. The Vault of Mahabodhi temple is being coated with gold plates as heavy as 290kgs, as offered by the Government of Thailand.
The Mahabodhi Temple standing in the east of the Bodhi Tree, continues to amaze people from the very time it made its presence in the earth with an unworldly beauty and architecture. The 170ft tall temple with ‘chatras’ on the top of it exemplifies supremacy and a significant influence of religion. The four towers rising from the four corners of the main temple also give enough equilibrium and countenance to the whole atmosphere. This consecrated and blessed erection seems to be the proof of nothing but the large endeavor of the great Buddha to free the world from all of its affliction and angst and give it a touch of supreme bliss and perfection only to help the people vanquish every kind of unhappiness and misery. In the main sanctum, there are also various votive stupas, the artistry of which still happens to startle the visitors worldwide.
