Stone Pillar Marking The Location Of The Ajapala Nigrodha Banyan Tree, Where Buddha Meditated Editorial Image

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha, in particular to his attainment of Enlightenment. The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex was inscribed into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2002. The Buddha spent the 5th week in meditation after Enlightenment under the Ajapala Nigrodha Banyan tree and delivered a discourse on the equality of all sentient beings and that only by good deeds does one become a Brahamana, not by birth.