{"id":58205,"date":"2026-07-07T11:21:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T05:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=58205"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:56:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:26:51","slug":"mahabodhi-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mahabodhi-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahabodhi Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Mahabodhi Temple Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Mahabodhi Temple received donations worth nearly Rs 2 crore in a six-day census of donation boxes, including Rs 1.5 crore from Indian and Rs 50 lakh from foreign countries.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Mahabodhi Temple<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is an <\/span><b>ancient Buddhist temple<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> located in <\/span><b>Bodh Gaya, Bihar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, on the <\/span><b>banks of the Niranjana River.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is <\/span><b>one of the four most sacred sites of Buddhism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, marking the location where <\/span><b>Buddha attained Enlightenment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Bodhi), along with:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Lumbini (Buddha\u2019s birthplace)<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Sarnath (<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buddha\u2019s<\/span><b> first sermon)<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Kushinagar (<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buddha\u2019s<\/span><b> parinirvana)<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>original temple<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was constructed by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/ashoka\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Mauryan emperor Ashoka<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the <\/span><b>3rd century BC.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> present structure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is estimated to have been erected between <\/span><b>5th and 6th century AD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during the<\/span><b> Gupta Period.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temple was <\/span><b>heavily restored<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the 19th century by <\/span><b>Myanmar (Burmese) Buddhists<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and then by the <\/span><b>British <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was recognized as a <\/span><b>UNESCO World Heritage site<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2002.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Mahabodhi Temple <\/b><b>Architecture<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is constructed of brick and is <\/span><b>one of the oldest brick structures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to have <\/span><b>survived in India. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Built-in the <\/span><b>classical style of Indian temple architecture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the temple complex spreads over 5 hectares.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temple structure is 180 feet (55 meters) in height.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its <\/span><b>pyramidal shikhara (tower) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comprises several layers of niches, arch motifs, and fine engravings.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Four additional towers,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> each identical to the main tower but smaller in size, <\/span><b>adorn the corners<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the two-story structure<\/span><b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>shrine <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inside the temple holds a <\/span><b>yellow sandstone statue <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the <\/span><b>Buddha encased in glass.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>In 2013<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><b>upper portion <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the temple was <\/span><b>covered with gold<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as a<\/span><b> gift from the King and devotees of Thailand.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A<\/span><b> descendant of the Bodhi tree <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under which the <\/span><b>Buddha <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is said to have <\/span><b>sat until he attained enlightenment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands adjacent to the temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Vajrasana (Diamond Throne):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A <\/span><b>stone slab<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> marking the <\/span><b>exact spot <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where <\/span><b>Buddha meditated and attained enlightenmen<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t, originally <\/span><b>installed by Emperor Asoka.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stone railings surround the temple as well as the Bodhi tree.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>One of the most famous of Ashoka\u2019s many pillars <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(on which he had engraved <\/span><b>his proclamations and his understanding of religious doctrine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) stands at the southeast corner of the temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>News<\/b><strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jagran.com\/bihar\/gaya-mahabodhi-temple-receives-2-crore-rupees-in-donations-foreign-currency-included-40293484.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">JAG<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mahabodhi Temple is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, on the banks of the Niranjana River. Read more about Mahabodhi Temple, Location, Architecture, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":58233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2025,21,22,23],"class_list":["post-58205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","tag-mahabodhi-temple","tag-prelims-pointers","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58205"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111893,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58205\/revisions\/111893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}