The Mahabodhi Temple, a world heritage site in Bodh Gaya, is one of the most sacred Buddhist centres in the world and was restored more than once. The Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha is presumed to have attained wisdom, stands here. The area around the temple is well guarded. There is strict security checking at the entry point, and mobile phones are not allowed.
Professor Kailash Prasad from the department of Buddhist studies at the Magadh University in Bodh Gaya, said, “It is difficult to say who built the Mahabodhi Temple. It was built in the present shape in the sixth century. Alexander Cunningham [British army engineer] restored it in the 1880s. The height was as per the description of the [Chinese monk] Hiuen Tsang, who was an important link between Bodh Gaya and Nalanda. One of the inscriptions found at Nalanda says the building of the ancient Nalanda university resembled the sky-touching temple of Mahabodhi.”
Near the Mahabodhi Temple, there are temples built by several Asian countries.
Prasad said the old Patna, Gaya and Nalanda regions, which once formed Magadha, were all centres of education. There were other universities in the region, too, like the well-known Vikramshila university. Recently, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient university at Telhara, near the ruins of Nalanda. It is being claimed that Telhara was like Nalanda. While Vikramshila was a centre of Mahayana Buddhism, different systems were taught in Nalanda. When Nalanda declined, it is believed, Vikramshila rose. There are references that there was a learning centre called Vajrasana.
Said Prasad, “Bodh Gaya stands as the most important pilgrimage centre for people from Buddhist countries, whether they are from the Mahayana sect or the Theravada sect. There are 150 Buddhist monasteries in Bodh Gaya today. Myanmar has taken special interest in the Mahabodhi Temple, and has carried multiple renovation works here.”
At the Magadh University, at one point, there were 300 foreign students. Today, few local students are interested in learning Pali. The number of foreign students has come down. Foreign students come from Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. There was a time when there were 50 students from Vietnam alone in the Magadh University. They were mostly nuns and monks.