Mahabodhi Temple

Conquer the angry man by love
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness
Conquer the miser with generosity
Conquer the liar with truth.

Location – Bodh Gaya, Bihar
Best Time To Visit – October to March

The Mahabodhi Temple is a Buddhist temple which is located in BodhGaya. The temple is said to have been built by Emperor Ashoka in the third century. The Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodhgaya is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha and his attainment of enlightenment. The temple's principle relic is a distant descendant of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat when his enlightenment took place. The site has been sacred to the Buddhists since time immemorial. The Mahabodhi temple is one of the few early monumental brick structures to have survived in eastern India.

The Making of the Temple
About 250 years after Lord Buddha attained enlightenment that Buddhist Emperor Ashok visited Bodh Gaya with a plan to establish a monastery and a shrine at the place. He also built the diamond throne called as the Vajrasana in order to mark the exact spot of the Buddha's enlightenment. No doubt that Emperor Ashok can be called the true founder of the Mahabodhi temple. The Architectural Glory
The temple is constructed of brick and is one of the oldest brick structures to have survived in Eastern India. The brickwork of the temple is highly influential and showcases the great skills of the artists of that era. According UNESCO, “the present temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from the Gupta Period. The central towers of the temple rise up to 55 metres. The central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers. The other four towers constructed also exhibit the same style. The temple's architecture gave birth to new architectural traditions.
The entire temple is surrounded on all the four sides by stone railings, about two metres high. The railings reveal two distinct types – both in style as well as the materials used. Most of the older ones are made of sandstone and the newer ones are made of granite and are said to be built during the Gupta period. The older railings have scenes such as Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and Surya, the Hindu sun god. The newer railings have figures of stupas and eagles. Images of lotus flower can also be seen.

Accessibility
Air
The Patna Airport is the nearest airport to Bodh Gaya.(112 km).
Rail
The nearest rail head is Gaya (16 km.)
Road
Bodhgaya is connected by road to Gaya. 16 km to the Delhi-Kolkata Highway junction (on Grand Trunk Road) Dobhi-22 km and Patna 105 km. (via Jahanabad) or 181 km via Raigir.