Bodh Gaya

The most sacred centre of Buddhist pilgrimage in the world, Bodh Gaya is where Siddhartha Gautama attained Nirvana to become the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree. Bodh Gaya throngs with pilgrims of all nationalities and exudes a beautifully peaceful and calm atmosphere. To the East of the Bodhi Tree, the graceful Mahabodhi temple contains an enormous statue of the Buddha carved in the posture in which he attained enlightenment. Surrounding the Mahabodhi temple are the impressive monasteries of other nations.

Thirteen kilometres away on the River Phalgu, the city of Gaya is set among a picturesque landscape of small boulder-strewn hills. As mentioned in the Ramayana, Gaya is sacred to Hindus, who often come here to perform the pind daan pooja. Nearby, on a low ridge of granite, are the famed Barabar Caves – the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India – which will be familiar to the readers of E.M. Forster’s book A Passage to India as the Marabar Caves where one of the book’s central dramas takes place. Rajgir, the ancient capital of the Magadha kingdom, is the location of two rock-cut caves that were favoured retreats of the Buddha. It is also a focal point of a Jain pilgrimage because the village has been Lord Mahavira’s abode (the founder of Jainism) for 14 years.

A short drive away, ancient Nalanda was once a thriving seat of learning that attracted scholars from across the Buddhist world. It is considered India’s oldest university, and Buddha is said to have delivered lectures near Nalanda’s mango grove. To the north of Patna, Vaishali is noted as the birthplace of the Jain Lord Mahavira and was where Buddha delivered his last sermon in 483 BC. It is also the location of an Ashokan pillar.