The Bodhgaya Stupa, or Mahabodhi Vihara as it is also known, was erected in the place where Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment some two thousand five hundred years ago. Its origins are lost in time, but it is known that King Ashoka erected a shrine to Buddha here in the third century B.C.
In spite of extensive research by scholars, until this day no one has been able to give a definate date as to when this present temple was built, who constructed it or how long it took to be completed. It is generally believed that the Great Stupa must have come into existence between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D.
A relief from an older Stupa railing dated about 100BC gives an indication of what the early temple at Bodhgaya looked like; a two storied structure with a gabled roof built around the Bodhi Tree and supported by pillars. Inside a slab of stone, the Vajrasana (indestructable seat of enlightenment) sat by the decorated trunk of the Bodhi tree, behind which were two Tiratana symbols. This temple was probably called Vajrasana Gandhakuti and may have stood for several centuries, being repaired and added to from time to time.
Much of the history of Bodhgaya is known from its inscriptions, graffiti and to a lesser extent literary accounts of the many pilgrims who visited throughout the centuries. During the long reign of the Pala Kings of Bengal, the Mahabodhi Temple received lavish patronage, and most of the images and Stupas that can still be seen in and around the temple date from this period. Several inscriptions mention Pala Kings as having made gifts and endowments as did Kings from other parts of India.
The beginning of the thirteenth century saw much of India in chaos due to the invasion by the Turkish Empire. Invading Muslim armies destroyed temples and defaced statues. There is no record of exactly how and when Bodhgaya was destroyed, but there are records that in the onslaught the Turks put to death innumerable monks and destroyed images and shrines.
During the Turkish rule, the Mahabodhi temple fell into ruins due to deliberate destruction and neglect, and the visits of pilgrims became less and less frequent. All accounts of the temple prior to the British restoration in 1880 indicate that it was an uncared for and neglected ruin, with the ground floor and second floor chambers collapsed. An accumulation of rubbish around the temple meant that the level of the ground had reached above the niches on the outer wall.
In 1802, the Burmese sent a mission to Bodhgaya, and the British also became interested. Francis Hamilton's 1811 visit didn't yield a published report until 1836, however Alexander Cunningham was led to recommend excavations after his visit in 1861.
The initial excavations were led by Major Mead, but no report was ever published and today the papers whereabouts are unknown. It was in 1880 that the Governor of Bengal appointed J.D. Beglar to restore the temple in conjunction with the Burmese. This restoration was based on earlier models of the temple found in the local area. Some say that this sadly destroyed much of the original nature of the temple by rebuilding the front pavilion and four corner towers and covering the arched doorway despite the physical evidence these existed at an earlier stage.
The arches and corner towers have been a major source of controversy in the modern restoration. It is possible that the arches had already been covered when the temple received its last major ancient restoration in the Pala period. At that time, a third sandstone floor was laid, the inner throne was refaced and the tower was rebuilt and replastered. It seems most probable that the models of the temple (that formed the basis for the modern restoration) were made no earlier than this period. The most elaborate of these depicts a temple with a tall straight-sided tower surmounted by a large Stupa, and surrounded with four smaller corner towers of similar design. A large rectangular doorway provides entrance to the second storey. Little evidence of the corner towers remained when restoration began in the 1800s. However, one photograph of the temple during clearance reveals a ribbed object near the south-east corner of the plinth, that might be the remains of a small Stupa.
Cunningham wrote; "This additional work has been much criticised, and I have been roundly abused for it in company with Mr. Beglar, although I had nothing whatsoever to say to it. At the same time I must confess that, since I have seen it, I think this design of the front pavilion is a very successful completion to the entrance in the style and spirit of the original work, as shown in the model. It is of course a 'restoration' which, as it was based on the double authority of existing remains and an ancient model, I consider legitimate and justifiable."
At the beginning of the 18th century a wandering Sanyasi (Monk) named Gossain Ghamandi Giri arrived at the village of Bodhgaya and ultimately decided to make it his home. Close to the ruins of the Mahabodhi temple, he erected a Saivite temple and gathered around him a large number of followers. Many images and statues were moved from the ruins of the Mahabodhi temple to his compound, where they may still be found today. Gradually his devotees grew and he became a Mahant, a very powerful person in the area. In the years that followed, the Mahant staked a claim on the Mahabodhi temple and made it part of his expanding domain. There is no evidence, however, that he was officially granted the Mahabodhi Temple by the Muslim Emperor in Delhi.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Anagarika Dharmapala a devout pilgrim from Sri Lanka claimed the Mahabodhi Temple for Buddhists. The current Mahant, however, insisted it belonged to him. In spite of opposition from both the British and Hindu quarters, Dharmapala continued to wage a campaign to restore the Mahabodhi temple to Buddhists. For a number of years he and the Mahant were embroiled in legal battles over the ownership. Finally in 1906 the trial ended in defeat to Dharmapala, yet this did not discourage him. He continued to wage a relentless appeal. Finally in 1949 the Bodhgaya Temple Act was passed, making provision for a committee of four Buddhists and four Hindus to manage the affairs of the temple.
Today, the temple is a fifty metre tall pyramidal tower, crowned with a bell like Stupa. The base is a fifteen metre square two-storey structure supporting four smaller towers identical to their central counterpart. Inside the temple sits a large gilded statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in earth touching mudra. This image is said to be 1700 years old and is facing east exactly at the place where the Buddha, sitting in meditation with his back to the Bodhi tree, was enlightened.
Around the temple on four sides is a two metre high stone railing. There are two types which can be distinguished by style and material. The older is dated to about 150 BC and is made of sandstone, while the latter is probably of the Gupta period (300-600 AD) and is constructed from coarse granite. The older set has a number of designs representing scenes from the purchase of Jetavana Grove by Ananthapindika at Sravasti, Lakshmi being bathed by elephants, Surya riding a chariot drawn by four horses and many others. On the latter are figures of Stupas and Garudas while lotus motifs are also commonly used.
To Buddhists from all over the globe, the Great Stupa of the Mahabodhi Vihara is revered as the holiest of holy places and acts as a Mecca for hundreds of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims every year.
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