Buddhist sites in Anuradhapura

Sri Maha Bodhi

The Sacred Bo Tree

 

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

When ? : 246 BC

Highlights?

  • The most venerated of All Buddhist places of worship

  • The oldest (recorded) living tree in the world !

  • The southern branch of the actual Bo tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.

  • For more than 2000 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 !

Historical glimpses

  • Its a miracle how, when all other buddhist places of worship were plundered and destroyed by south indian invaders, the sacred tree survived !

  • To prevent the Bo tree from the attacks of wild elephants, the keepers of the sacred tree lit fires around it. The firewood which were needed for this was brought by villagers, in sufficient quantities for the whole year, on each July Full moon day. Though the tree today is well protected, the ancient firewood custom is still celebrated today as the "Daramiti Poya " (The firewood full moon) on each July full moon day

  • Almost each Sinhala king made some sort of contribution to the sacred tree. The present stone wall around the sacred tree was made by King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe in the 18th century to stop the attacks of wild elephants. The significant fact here is that at that time, Anuradhapura was no longer the kingdom and lay in ruins, yet the King decided to send workers all the way and put up a wall. This goes to show the deep veneration that the kings and the people of the country had for the sacred tree. Recent excavations have shown that this wall was built on top of an older wall , which in turn was built on top of the original wall .

  • In 1907 and in 1911, two branches of the tree fell as a result of rainstorms.

  • In 1929, a madman axed one whole branch of the sacred tree.

  • In 1985, Tamil Tigers launched an inhuman attack on innocent pilgrims who had come to worship the tree and killed them.

  • In December 2005, a week before the Tsunami, a part of the wall surrounding the tree collapsed. The priests took this as a sign of impending danger but thought more in the lines of another terrorist attack than a Tsunami.

What to see

  • The Sacred tree area consists of three terraces. On the lowest level, we can see 41 accompanying Bo trees. Some believe that these were planted as protection to the main tree
  • The magnificent Golden railing (called "Ran veta" )to the sacred tree is a recent addition
  • In the shrine room one can see two Buddha Statues, one standing and the other seated believed to be made around the 10th century
  • A few moonstones belonging to the sixth and eighth centuries can be seen.
  • On the northern side, flanking a flight of steps are guard stones, which depict hooded cobras. These are called "Naga Stones" (Cobra stones)

Worshipping the sacred Tree (Bodhi Pooja)

  • Buddhists believe that by worshiping a branch of the very tree that helped Buddha to achieve enlightenment, one is worshipping the Buddha itself. It is believed that bathing the tree with water and cleaning the yard on which the tree sits will provide great benefits for the worshipper. A possible reason for this is, achieving enlightenment requires unimaginable mental energy and sacrifice and it is believed that the tree still posses that energy and power to which the worshipper can tap in to .The writer has met a large number of individuals over the years who have had great benefits as a result of offering Bodice pooja to the sacred tree to dismiss this explanation as a mere tree worshipping exercise (after all, no human culture can look after a tree for more than 2300 years unless there is something happening ?)

The present day daily rituals performed at the sacred tree

  • The present tree area consists of three terraces. Out of which, the topmost terrace on which the tree sits, is always swept every morning by a priest. Other two terraces are also cleaned every morning.The sweeping too is done according to a particular square pattern.
  • Then the wilted flowers of the previous day are removed from the flower seats and the shrine room.
  • At 11.00 a.m. , the Buddha Pooja (the offering for the Buddha) is conducted amidst traditional drumbeats at the Shine room which is then kept closed till 2.00 p.m.
  • Once again just as in the morning, the cleaning of the three terraces take place in the evening
  • The evening pooja (Gilanpasa), is then offered
  • The doors close at 8.00 pm.
  • Then traditional drums and other instruments are sounded

The different festivals associated with the scared tree

  • The "Aluth Sahal Mangalya" (The new rice festival)
 

Held in January each year, now under the patronage of the government. The first portion of the new paddy harvest is offered to the tree. A "kiribath" (milk rice) is made with this portion of rice and put in to a gold plate. Then the plate is carried in possession accompanied by drummers and musicians and offered to the sacred tree.

  • The "Parana Avrudu Mangalya" (The old year festival)
 

Held in April , 5 days before the Sinhala New year . A number of Poojas are conducted such as Bodhi Poojas (offerings to the tree), Buddha Poojas (offerings to the Buddha) and Deva Poojas (offerings to the gods). The festival is done with the participation of the priests of the sacred tree temple and villagers from villagers who were traditionally assigned duties with respect to the sacred tree. A list of the events that took place in the previous year and the list of events planned for the new year are read out for the benefit of the god "Kalu Devatha Bandara", believed to be in charge of the sacred tree.

  • The "Aluth Avrudu Mangalya" (The new year festival)
 

Held at a specific auspicious time before the Vesak (May) full moon day. A striking feature of this festival is that the branches of the sacred tree are wrapped in cloths and jewelry is garlanded in the tree. This festival is also done in conjunction with all eight sacred sites, where at a given time, at all eight sacred sites (atamasthana), a special food offering called "Kiri Ahara" , made with rice , coconut milk and other condiments is made and offered. After that a pooja is made to the gods lead by the god "Kalu Devatha Bandara".

  • The "Kartika" festival
 

This is the fourth of the 4 great festivals associated with the sacred tree. This is held on the full moon day in the month of November and is believed to be a festival traditionally associated with God Vishnu.