Than Hsiang DMS

Then being a quester for the good, searching for the incomparable, matchless path of peace, while walking on tour through Magadha I arrived at Uruvela, the army township. There I saw a beautiful stretch of ground, a lovely woodland grove, a clear flowing river with a beautiful ford with a village nearby for support. And I thought: ‘Indeed, this is a good place for a young man set on striving.’ So I sat down there, thinking: ‘Indeed, this is a good place for striving.’

The Buddha spent the next seven weeks in the vicinity of the Bodhi Tree, experiencing the joy of the enlightenment and contemplating the implications of the truths he had realized, after which he set off for Sarnath. He returned later that year and converted three eminent ascetics who lived in the area, Gaya Kassapa, Nadi Kassapa and Uruvela Kassapa. After that, he set out to proclaim his Dhamma to the world, apparently never to return to Uruvela again.

The Bodhi Tree

At the back of the Mahabodhi Temple is the Bodhi Tree. On the night the Buddha attained enlightenment, he sheltered under the branches of such a tree.
The present Bodhi Tree was planted in the 19th century, several previous trees having died or been destroyed.
Huien Tsiang says that every Vesakha-the full moon of May when the Buddha’s enlightenment was celebrated-thousands of people from all over India would gather at Bodh Gaya and bathe the roots of the tree with scented water and perfumed milk, play music and scatter heaps of flowers.

The Outer Vajirasana

At the foot of the Budhi Tree is the oldest object that can still be viewed at both Bodh Gaya – a large rectangular slab of stone. This stone may have originally been placed over the Vajirasana inside the temple. This outer Vajirasana is 143x238x13.5 cm and made from polished Chunar sandstone. The top is decorated with unusual geometrical designs and there is a palmette and goose was used in ancient Buddhism as a symbol of detachment. The Vajirasana was probably made by king Asoka, and the fact that a similar palmette and goose design is to be found on his pillar capital at Sanchi strengthens this conjecture.

Pragbodhi

In the Maha Saccaka Sutta of Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha gives a vivid description of the terrible austerities he practiced in the six years before his enlightenment, but as to where he stayed during this period he gives no hint. It is very likely that he stayed around Rajagaha and later around Gaya. In Huien Tsiang’s time, tradition said that the Bodhisatta stayed in cave on the side of a mountain called Pragbodhi (“Prior to Enlightenment”) before finally deciding to go to Bodh Gaya and there is no reason to doubt this tradition.
The peaceful environment around Pragbodhi, its wild beauty and the powerful presence that can be felt in the cave, make it well worth a visit.

Note: The information extracted from ‘Middle Land Middle Way’ by Ven. S. Dhammika.