Occurrence of Attributes in Original Text
The text related to the cultural heritage 'Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya' has mentioned 'Temple' in the following places:
| Occurrence Sentence | Text Source |
|---|---|
| Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh GayaUNESCO World Heritage SiteMahabodhi TempleLocationBodh Gaya, Bihar, IndiaCriteriaCultural: i, ii, iii, iv, viReference1056Inscription2002 (26th session)Area4.86 haCoordinates24xc2xb041xe2x80xb246xe2x80xb3N 84xc2xb059xe2x80xb229xe2x80xb3Exefxbbxbf / xefxbbxbf24.6960xc2xb0N 84.9913xc2xb0Exefxbbxbf / 24.6960; 84.9913Coordinates: 24xc2xb041xe2x80xb246xe2x80xb3N 84xc2xb059xe2x80xb229xe2x80xb3Exefxbbxbf / xefxbbxbf24.6960xc2xb0N 84.9913xc2xb0Exefxbbxbf / 24.6960; 84.9913Location of the templeShow map of BiharMahabodhi Temple (India)Show map of India | WIKI |
| The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahabodhi Mahavihar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but much rebuilt and restored, Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. | WIKI |
| Many of the oldest sculptural elements have been moved to the museum beside the temple, and some, such as the carved stone railing wall around the main structure, have been replaced by replicas. | WIKI |
| The main temple's survival is especially impressive, as it was mostly made of brick covered with stucco, materials that are much less durable than stone. | WIKI |
| The temple complex includes two large straight-sided shikhara towers, the largest over 55 metres (180 feet) high. | WIKI |
| Contents 1 The Buddha 2 Mahabodhi Tree 3 Temple construction 3.1 Mauryan establishment 3.2 Sunga structures 3.2.1 Columns with pot-shaped bases 3.2.2 Railings 3.3 Current pyramidal temple 4 Decline 5 Mucalinda Lake 6 Restoration 7 Architectural style 8 Control of the site 9 Current status and management 10 Recent events 10.1 2013 attack 11 Mahabodhi Temple replica 12 Notes 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links | WIKI |
| The temple was built directly to the east of the Bodhi tree, supposedly a direct descendant of the original Bodhi Tree. | WIKI |
| Temple construction[edit] | WIKI |
| [13] It is worshiped today, and is the center of many festivities at the temple. | WIKI |
| Representations of the early temple structure meant to protect the Bodhi tree are found at Sanchi, on the toraxe1xb9x87as of Stxc5xabpa I, dating from around 25 BCE, and on a relief carving from the stupa railing at Bhxc4x81rhut, from the early Shunga period (c. 185xe2x80x93c. | WIKI |
| Current pyramidal temple[edit] | WIKI |
| This truncated pyramid design also marked the evolution from the aniconic stupa dedicated to the cult of relics, to the iconic temple with multiple images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. | WIKI |
| The Temple was restored by the British and India post independence. | WIKI |
| A strong revival occurred under the Pala Empire in the northeast of the subcontinent (where the temple is situated). | WIKI |
| In the 13th century, Burmese Buddhists built a temple with the same name and modelled on the original Mahabodhi Temple. | WIKI |
| Temple before restoration | WIKI |
| The temple as it appeared in 1899, shortly after its restoration in the 1880s | WIKI |
| During the 13th century and again the 19th century, Burmese rulers undertook restoration of the temple complex and surrounding wall. | WIKI |
| In 1884, a large Buddha image of the Pxc4x81la period, likely removed at an earlier stage to the Mahant's residence from the temple sanctum, was reinstated. | WIKI |
| Buddha image in the main temple. | WIKI |
| According to UNESCO, "the present temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from Gupta period" (300xe2x80x93600 CE). | WIKI |
| In 1891, a campaign was initiated, seeking the return of control of the temple to Buddhists, over the objections of the Hindu mahant. | WIKI |
| It was then the temple management of Bodh Gaya was entrusted to a committee comprised in equal numbers of Hindus and Buddhists. | WIKI |
| [39][40] The campaign was partially successful in 1949, when control passed from the Hindu mahant to the state government of Bihar, which established a Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) under the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949. | WIKI |
| In 2013, the Bihar government amended the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, allowing for a non-Hindu to head the temple committee. | WIKI |
| [45][46] Additionally, Japanese-born Surai Sasai emerged as an important Buddhist leader in India as both he and Bhante Anand became two of the most well-known leaders of this campaign to free the temple from Hindu control. | WIKI |
| The temple undergoing repairs (from January, 2006). | WIKI |
| The Bihar state government assumed responsibility for the protection, management, and monitoring of the temple and its properties when India gained its independence. | WIKI |
| Pursuant to the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, such responsibilities are shared with the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee,[48] and an advisory board. | WIKI |
| [49] A 2013 Amendment to the Bodhgaya Temple Management Act allows the Gaya District Magistrate to be the Chairman of the committee, even if he is not Hindu. | WIKI |
| The temple's head monk, Bhikkhu Bodhipala, resigned in 2007 after he was charged with cutting the branches of Holy Bodhi Tree on a regular basis and selling them to foreigners for significant amounts of money. | WIKI |
| A newspaper alleged that wealthy Thai buyers bought a branch with the cooperation of senior members of the temple's management committee. | WIKI |
| [51] While the temple's spokesman stated that botanists had pruned the tree, the Bihar home secretary ordered the tree examined. | WIKI |
| Following the expiration of the committee's term in September 2007, Bihar's government delayed appointing a new Committee and the district magistrate administered the temple pending such appointment. | WIKI |
| [49] Eventually, on May 16, 2008 the government announced the appointment of a new Temple Management Committee. | WIKI |
| As of Junexc2xa02017[update], the Temple's head monk was Bhikkhu Chalinda. | WIKI |
| In 2013, the upper portion of the temple was covered with 289xc2xa0kg of gold. | WIKI |
| On 7 July 2013, ten low-intensity bombs exploded in the temple complex, injuring 5 people. | WIKI |
| The blasts took place between 5.30 a.m. and 6.00 a.m.[56][57] The main temple was undamaged. | WIKI |
| The property has a total area of 4.8600 ha.The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is the first temple built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5thxe2x80x936th centuries. | UNESCO |
| The present Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya comprises the 50 m high grand Temple, the Vajrasana, sacred Bodhi Tree and other six sacred sites of Buddha's enlightenment, surrounded by numerous ancient Votive stupas, well maintained and protected by inner, middle and outer circular boundaries. | UNESCO |
| Both the temple area and the Lotus Pond are surrounded by circulating passages at two or three levels and the area of the ensemble is 5 m below the level of the surrounding land. | UNESCO |
| It is also a unique property of archaeological significance in respect of the events associated with the time Lord Buddha spent there, as well as documenting the evolving worship, particularly since the 3rd century, when Emperor Asoka built the first temple, the balustrades and the memorial column and the subsequent evolution of the ancient city with the building of sanctuaries and monasteries by foreign kings over the centuries.The Main Temple wall has an average height of 11 m and it is built in the classical style of Indian temple architecture. | UNESCO |
| Further above there are mouldings and chaitya niches, and then the curvilinear shikhara or tower of the temple surmounted by amalaka and kalasha (architectural features in the tradition of Indian temples). | UNESCO |
| At the four corners of the parapet of the temple are four statues of the Buddha in small shrine chambers. | UNESCO |
| The temple faces east and consists of a small forecourt in the east with niches on either side containing statues of the Buddha. | UNESCO |
| Above the sanctum is the main hall with a shrine containing a statue of Buddha, where senior monks gather to meditate.From the east, a flight of steps leads down through a long central path to the main temple and the surrounding area. | UNESCO |
| Along this path there are significant places associated with events that immediately followed the Buddhaxe2x80x99s Enlightment, together with votive stupas and shrines.The most important of the sacred places is the giant Bodhi Tree, to the west of the main temple, a supposed direct descendant of the original Bodhi Tree under which Buddha spent his First Week and had his enlightment. | UNESCO |
| Buddha spent the Third Week walking eighteen paces back and forth in an area called Ratnachakrama (the Jewelled Ambulatory), which lies near the north wall of the main temple. | UNESCO |
| He spent the Sixth Week next to the Lotus Pond to the south of the enclosure, and the Seventh Week was spent under the Rajyatana Tree, to the south-east of the main temple, currently marked by a tree. | UNESCO |
| Next to the Bodhi Tree there is a platform attached to the main temple made of polished sandstone known as Vajrasana (the Diamond Throne), originally installed by Emperor Asoka to mark the spot where Buddha sat and meditated. | UNESCO |
| Further up the central path towards the main temple to the south is a small shrine with a standing Buddha in the back and with the footprints (Padas) of the Buddha carved on black stone, dating from the 3rd century BC when Emperor Asoka declared Buddhism to be the official religion of the state and installed thousands of such footprint stones all over his kingdom. | UNESCO |
| The gateway to the Temple, which is on the central path, was also originally built by this Emperor, but was later rebuilt. | UNESCO |
| Further on the path towards the main temple is a building housing several statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas. | UNESCO |
| This property is now revered as the holiest place of Buddhist pilgrimage in the world and is considered the cradle of Buddhism in the history of mankind.Criterion (i): The grand 50m high Mahabodhi Temple of the 5th-6th centuries is of immense importance, being one of the earliest temple constructions existing in the Indian sub-continent. | UNESCO |
| It is one of the few representations of the architectural genius of the Indian people in constructing fully developed brick temples in that eraCriterion (ii): The Mahabodhi Temple, one of the few surviving examples of early brick structures in India, has had significant influence in the development of architecture over the centuries.Criterion (iii): The site of the Mahabodhi Temple provides exceptional records for the events associated with the life of Buddha and subsequent worship, particularly since Emperor Asoka built the first temple, the balustrades, and the memorial column.Criterion (iv): The present Temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from the late Gupta period. | UNESCO |
| The historical evidences and texts reveal that the parts of present Temple Complex date from different periods. | UNESCO |
| The main Temple, the Vajrasana, the seat of Buddha's enlightenment was preserved by Emperor Asoka and the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment witnessed through the ages, the site's glory, decline and revival since middle of 19th century A.D onwards is unchanged and complete. | UNESCO |
| The main part of the temple is recorded from about the 5th - 6th century A.D. | UNESCO |
| Nevertheless, the temple is considered to be the oldest and best preserved example of brick architecture in India from this particular period. | UNESCO |
| The architecture of the Temple has remained essentially unaltered and follows the original form and design. | UNESCO |
| On the basis of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, the State Government is responsible for the management and protection of the property through Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) and Advisory Board. | UNESCO |
| The Committee is equipped with 85 regular staff members and over 45 casual workers to attend to the Temple duty as office staff, security guards, gardeners and sweepers. | UNESCO |
| All conservation / restoration works relating to the Temple Complex are taken up under the expert guidance of Archaeological Survey of India. | UNESCO |
| The sustained operation of the management system allows for the Temple Complex to be well maintained and flow of visitors managed adequately. | UNESCO |
| Proposals will need to be preceded by Heritage Impact Assessments and a particular challenge will be to continuously monitor the impact that potential developments of the area as a whole, including the town, may have on the religious and spiritual significance of the place.The Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee also seeks to undertake a sustainable approach to the maintenance of the property for example utilization of solar energy, pollution free environment, etc. | UNESCO |