Mahabodhi Temple – First Thoughts
Is it a temple or a stup? There are railings around so it has to be a stup. But stups are mounds. This has the tallest spire you have seen in this part of the country. So, did it start as a stup and like at Sanchi where the successive dynasties contributed by adding stone and torans, here, successive dynasties turned the mound of bricks into a majestic brick temple with a sanctum soaring into the skies? When Cunningham and Beglar found it, it was a ruined brick structure. It was renovated by them with a cladding of stone. For the first time, you are impressed with the renovation of a brick structure.
And how did it survive the wrath of Bakhtiyar who burnt down the Nalanda university to the north? To you it seems brick temples had better survival rate than the stone temples during the medieval times. One reason was bricks don’t make good construction material like pillars of stone temples do and probably brick structures were covered with vegetation and we have a smattering of brick temples surviving from Kaithal to Kanpur and to Bodh Gaya in a region where stone temples were cleaned out.
Today the temple looks lovely and lively
under the blue skies and with all these doting devotees across the grounds. You
are just happy that the temple survived and for the efforts of Cunningham.
Time Why You Walk Away (Hootie and the Blowfish)
Hundred years later you are at the exact
spot marvelling at the looming spire of the temple while a pretty maiden plays
among the trees.
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| Stupa railings at Mahabodhi Temple – not sure if they are original or later copies, Bodh Gaya, Bihar |
You have never seen this iconography of
a Salabhanjika. It seems she is getting a leg up from her partner to reach the
branches of the tree. Her leg is entwined around the trunk and she is seen
climbing the tree. Usually, she poses under the low branches but here probably
the tree has grown out of her reach and she needs some lift!
The Other Devotees - Canine Monks
You have never seen so many doggies in a
temple before. They are everywhere just like their human brethren. And most of
them are meditating over dogly affairs – probably wondering and trying to
comprehend the meaning of lives just like everyone else here on a lovely winter
morning.
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| Doggie Monks at Mahabodhi Temple, Gaya, Bihar |
Along with the mostly visiting human
pilgrims the mostly resident canine devotees spend most of the day in repose.
In fact, the dogs seem more at peace with themselves than the humans. Given
their numbers, the dogs remarkably exist in total harmony. You never heard them
quarrelling. Even if there was a minor kerfuffule, the discord was promptly
doused by a passing monk and everything goes quiet again.
The dogs mostly are in good shape, have
this outwardly glow on their faces and you are sure are wiser than you are.
Maybe you could spend more time among them if they are willing to share some of
their knowledge.
The Happy Zone
The sight of these multicoloured prayer flags always make you happy. They remind you of the roadtrip in Spiti. Here they are strung over the waters of Mucalinda Lake, the abode of the Snake King. Lord Buddha spent the sixth week here meditating when Mucalinda appeared protecting Him from violent rain and thunder.
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| Mucalinda Lake, Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar |
You circumambulate the lake as the flags flutter and their shadows ripple across the green waters. Few devotees meditate on the steps with the spire of the temple looming over the complex just ahead. This is a beautiful place.
Devotion in Poetry
If Delhi parks in winters and festivals in IGNCA are for people watching, Mahabodhi Temple is for pilgrim watching. It is probably the only place of worship where devotees from so many countries converge on any given day in India. And probably the quietest, hushed, cleanest and wreathed with this beautiful unmatchable serenity.
Pilgrims are everywhere – on the steps, circumambulating on feet, circumambulating when they lie down prone, get up and again dive to the ground, some do this on stationery wooden platforms dotted across the complex – diving rising praying and it goes on; some pilgrims are scattered among the votive stups, some in groups while some solo, all in this heady presence of this place where the Lord attained Enlightenment. The biggest throng is around the Bodhi Tree as people sit with eyes closed, meditating and repeating hymns after their priests.
As darkness descends, these small foldable tents come out and the individual devotees seem to disappear into their own cocoons – all alone with their prayers and their Lord.
The Salabhanjika from Cambodia
The plan is to meet up at Angkor Vat
next.
But how will I know when you will be in
Cambodia - you did not even ask my name?
The Salabhanjika at Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya
Of course, we know each other. We have been meeting over the ages - sometimes in Mathura, and Amaravati, then in Taxila, Sanchi and Bharhut. And if you did not know me why would you keep bumping into me all morning?
Temple Run in South East Asia in the Times of Corona Virus
If travelling to South East Asia in these virulent times is making you jittery, worry not, there is a slice of Asia in this little surprise of a town.
Almost every country with Buddhist faith
has built their beautiful dedication to Lord Buddh. So, once you have visited
the Mahabodhi Temple, then hit the streets of the town dotted with these
wonderful temples and monasteries. While Thailand has three temples here, other
countries represented here are Bhutan, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, China and even
Bangladesh. There are definitely more temples here and discovering them and
exploring their interiors will top the list on the next visit.
Metta Buddharam Temple - Thailand
Do Sanh Vietnam Temple
Royal Bhutan Monastery
Indosan Nipponji Japanese Temple
When you don’t know what to expect, the surprises come plenty and fast.
On the main road leading to the
Mahabodhi Temple is the most majestic temple in the town. On a nippy crisp
early morning, you find yourself in the beautiful premises of the temple even
as the priest goes about his business while Lord Buddh meditates.
Wat Thai or Royal Thai Monastery, Bodh Gaya, Bihar
