Bodhgaya - Revision history

Jyoti: /* Controversies through the ages */

2025-04-28T20:53:21Z

‎Controversies through the ages

Pdewan: /* Mahabodhi Temple */

2025-04-05T19:52:48Z

‎Mahabodhi Temple

Jyoti at 11:36, 23 July 2024

2024-07-23T11:36:08Z

Jyoti: /* Mahabodhi Temple */

2024-07-23T11:31:47Z

‎Mahabodhi Temple

Jyoti: /* The Bodhi tree */

2018-11-19T04:22:53Z

‎The Bodhi tree

Jyoti: /* 2017: ‘Not in a bad shape or leafless’--FRI */

2017-04-30T00:57:44Z

‎2017: ‘Not in a bad shape or leafless’--FRI

Jyoti: /* Buddha Poornima */

2017-04-30T00:57:28Z

‎Buddha Poornima

Jyoti at 00:56, 30 April 2017

2017-04-30T00:56:41Z

Pdewan at 15:57, 19 April 2017

2017-04-19T15:57:18Z

Pdewan: Pdewan moved page Bodh Gaya/ Bodhgaya to Bodhgaya without leaving a redirect

2017-04-19T15:52:44Z

Pdewan moved page Bodh Gaya/ Bodhgaya to Bodhgaya without leaving a redirect

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:53, 28 April 2025
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	Another school says that the shrine was vandalised by followers of Adi Shankaracharya following the perceived defeat of Buddhist religious scholars in a Shastrarth with the Shankaracharya. Again in the year 1891, Buddhist missionary Angarika Dhammapala joined issue with the Hindu mahant of Bodh Gaya on management rights over the temple.		Another school says that the shrine was vandalised by followers of Adi Shankaracharya following the perceived defeat of Buddhist religious scholars in a Shastrarth with the Shankaracharya. Again in the year 1891, Buddhist missionary Angarika Dhammapala joined issue with the Hindu mahant of Bodh Gaya on management rights over the temple.
		+
		+	==Battle for control==
		+	[https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/explained-the-decades-old-dispute-over-who-controls-mahabodhi-temple-in-gaya-9919163/ Parthasarathi Biswas, April 2, 2025: ''The Indian Express'']
		+
		+	Over the past two months, large-scale demonstrations have erupted across India demanding that the control over the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, be handed over to Buddhists.
		+
		+	These protests are the latest chapter in a decades-old dispute over who controls one of the holiest sites in Buddhism. Buddhists want the repeal of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949 (BGTA), under which the temple is currently governed.
		+
		+	''' The temple in Bodh Gaya '''
		+
		+	It is in Bodh Gaya, while meditating under the Bo tree, that Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment to become the Buddha (literally, “the Enlightened One”) in 589 BCE.
		+
		+	A simple shrine was constructed to mark the site by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, of which only the Vajrasana (Diamond Throne), a stone slab under the Bodhi tree next to the temple, remains. Additional structures were built during the Shunga period (2nd to 1st century BCE).
		+
		+	Fifth-century Chinese traveller Faxian (also known as Fa Hien) wrote that there were three Buddhist monasteries around the temple in Gaya. But the current pyramidal structure can be dated to the reign of the Guptas in the 6th century CE.
		+
		+	The Palas (8th-12th century CE) were the last major royal patrons of the Mahabodhi temple. By the 11th-12th centuries, Buddhism was gradually declining in the subcontinent, and so were its many centres, including in Gaya.
		+
		+	''' Lengthy struggle for control '''
		+
		+	The shrine was in a state of disrepair when Alexander Cunningham, the founder of the Archaeological Survey of India, began restoration in the 1880s. According to the website of UNESCO, which granted the Mahabodhi temple the World Heritage Site tag in 2002, the shrine was largely abandoned between the 13th and 19th centuries.
		+
		+	Giri’s descendants continue to control the Mahabodhi temple, which they say is a Hindu site. “Our Math’s teachings treat Lord Buddha as the ninth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu and we consider Buddhists our brothers,” Swami Vivekananda Giri, the Hindu priest currently in charge of the Bodh Gaya Math, told Al Jazeera.
		+
		+	Calls for the temple to be handed over to the Buddhists can be traced to the late 19th century. These were initially led by the Sri Lankan monk Anagarika Dhammapala, who even took the Hindu priests controlling the Mahabodhi temple to court.
		+
		+	Dhammapala’s struggle culminated in the passage of the BGTA by the Bihar Assembly in 1949, 16 years after his death.
		+
		+
		+	''' Why BGTA is controversial '''
		+
		+	The BGTA provided for the creation of a Committee to run the Mahabodhi temple. “The Committee shall consist of a Chairman and eight members nominated by the [State] Government… of whom four shall be Buddhists and four shall be Hindus including the Mahanth,” the Act says.
		+
		+	The Act says the District Magistrate of Gaya shall be the ex officio Chairman of the Committee, but adds that “the State Government shall nominate a Hindu as Chairman of the Committee for the period during which the district Magistrate of Gaya is non-Hindu”.
		+
		+	So while the BGTA gave Buddhists a stake in the management of the shrine, control effectively remained with Hindus. This is at the heart of the tensions today, with the Buddhist side claiming that Hindu rituals have gained predominance in the temple over the years.
		+
		+	“It is painful to see the Mahabodhi temple being made home to non-Buddhist rituals,” Dr Siddharth Dhende, former deputy mayor of Pune Municipal Corporation, told The Indian Express.
		+
		+	Legally speaking, the Buddhists’ case is complicated by the Places of Worship Act, 1991. Introduced in the wake of the Ayodhya movement, the Act provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
		+
		+	“The Places of Worship Act… blocked any legal attempts by the Buddhists to regain control of the temple,” said Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi youth leader Rajendra Patode. The Act is currently under challenge in the Supreme Court.
		+
		+	In 2012, two monks filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a repeal of the BGTA, but 13 years on, the case is yet to be listed before the court.
		+
		+	The ongoing protests were triggered when a group of Buddhist monks, who were fasting against “non-Buddhist” rituals in the temple, were forcibly removed from the temple premises at midnight on February 27.
		+
		+	The protests are being led by the umbrella organisation All India Buddhist Forum (AIBF).
		+
		+	[[Category:Archæology\|B BODHGAYA
		+	BODHGAYA]]
		+	[[Category:India\|BBODHGAYABODHGAYA
		+	BODHGAYA]]
		+	[[Category:Places\|BBODHGAYABODHGAYA
		+	BODHGAYA]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|BBODHGAYABODHGAYA
		+	BODHGAYA]]

	==2017: ‘Not in a bad shape or leafless’--FRI==		==2017: ‘Not in a bad shape or leafless’--FRI==

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 NSK Harsh, a scientist at FRI, told TOI, “There was a lot of talk about the Mahabodhi tree drying up. However, we clarified to members of the BTMC during their visit to Dehradun that the autumn period has prolonged due to which sprouting of leaves has somewhat delayed, which is a natural phenomenon.However, a few saplings in some branches have begun appearing on the tree, so there is nothing to worry about.“ Harsh said the re vered tree had to be given micro-nutrients since 2007 when the tree showed signs of drying up. The institute's scientists had given instructions to BTMC to ensure devotees do not water it on their own or light earthen lamps under it. After these measures, the tree regained good health.
 =Mahabodhi temple complex=

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 See [[examples]] and a tutorial.</div>
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 The area was at the heart of a Buddhist civilization for centuries, until it was overrun by Turkic armies in the 13th century

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-= Mahabodhi Temple=
+=Mahabodhi Temple=
 [http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=CAP/2013/07/08&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00806&ViewMode=HTML The Times of India] 2013/07/08
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 NSK Harsh, a scientist at FRI, told TOI, “There was a lot of talk about the Mahabodhi tree drying up. However, we clarified to members of the BTMC during their visit to Dehradun that the autumn period has prolonged due to which sprouting of leaves has somewhat delayed, which is a natural phenomenon.However, a few saplings in some branches have begun appearing on the tree, so there is nothing to worry about.“ Harsh said the re vered tree had to be given micro-nutrients since 2007 when the tree showed signs of drying up. The institute's scientists had given instructions to BTMC to ensure devotees do not water it on their own or light earthen lamps under it. After these measures, the tree regained good health.
 = Buddha Poornima=

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-=== The Bodhi tree===
+==The Bodhi tree==
 Under the Bodhi tree, near the Niranjana river, Prince Siddhartha Gautama practised mediation
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 Spending seven weeks at seven spots in the vicinity, he recounted his experiences with his first disciples
 After seven weeks, Buddha travelled to Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon
 ==2017: ‘Not in a bad shape or leafless’--FRI==
 [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=2600-yr-old-Bodhi-tree-shed-leaves-naturally-19042017014011  2,600-yr-old Bodhi tree shed leaves naturally: Experts, April 19, 2017: The Times of India]

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 30 April 2017
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	NSK Harsh, a scientist at FRI, told TOI, “There was a lot of talk about the Mahabodhi tree drying up. However, we clarified to members of the BTMC during their visit to Dehradun that the autumn period has prolonged due to which sprouting of leaves has somewhat delayed, which is a natural phenomenon.However, a few saplings in some branches have begun appearing on the tree, so there is nothing to worry about.“ Harsh said the re vered tree had to be given micro-nutrients since 2007 when the tree showed signs of drying up. The institute's scientists had given instructions to BTMC to ensure devotees do not water it on their own or light earthen lamps under it. After these measures, the tree regained good health.		NSK Harsh, a scientist at FRI, told TOI, “There was a lot of talk about the Mahabodhi tree drying up. However, we clarified to members of the BTMC during their visit to Dehradun that the autumn period has prolonged due to which sprouting of leaves has somewhat delayed, which is a natural phenomenon.However, a few saplings in some branches have begun appearing on the tree, so there is nothing to worry about.“ Harsh said the re vered tree had to be given micro-nutrients since 2007 when the tree showed signs of drying up. The institute's scientists had given instructions to BTMC to ensure devotees do not water it on their own or light earthen lamps under it. After these measures, the tree regained good health.
		+
		+	= Buddha Poornima=
		+	On Buddha Poornima each year, his birth, nirvana, and mahaparinirvana are celebrated and thousands of pilgrims from Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, and other countries assemble here
		+
		+	Bodh Gaya was enlisted as the only UNESCO World Heritage site from Bihar in the year 2002
		+
		+	The area was at the heart of a Buddhist civilization for centuries, until it was overrun by Turkic armies in the 13th century

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+Both spellings, Bodh Gaya as well as Bodhgaya, are used almost equally extensively. However, an analysis of sign-boards in the holy town indicated that the government as well as the Buddhist establishment spelled the name as one word.  Bodh Gaya was more popular with the private sector.
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