Buddhist sites in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Sri Maha Bodhi

The Sacred Bodhi Tree (Oldest recorded Tree in the world)

(The sacred Bo Tree as seen on June 2006. The latest addition of golden support pillars to the tree is also seen. pic: Mirisawetiya webteam)

A branch of the very Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment in 528 BC

Creator : Brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta Thero, the daughter of the great Indian king Ashoka and planted with the patronage of king Devanampiyatissa

Planted in Sri Lanka in : 246 BC

Highlights

• The most venerated of All Buddhist places of worship.

• The oldest (recorded) living tree in the world (more than 2200 years old)!

• The only living being to "witness" the enlightenment of the Buddha.

• The southern branch of the actual Bodhi tree (Ficus Religiosa)under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Most of the Bo trees in Sri Lanka and some in Burma and Thailand have been grown from the seeds of this tree.

• For more than 2200 years, the sacred tree was looked after by pious Buddhists.

• The early kings gifted land to the caretakers of the sacred tree. the descendants of these caretakers still look after the tree, making this caretaker profession one of the oldest professions in the world ! (These "villudara"people still look after it, after more than 2000 years !!)

• Regarded as containing the power and the strength of the Buddha through the fact that a direct connection established between the Buddha and the sacred tree at the point of enlightenment and also the fact that the Buddha himself appointed the Bodhi tree as a representation of himself.

Click to see historical glimpses of the Sri Maha Bodhi

Click to see what is there to see at the sacred tree area.

Back to other sites

Back to Mirisawetiya home