Gaya is of historical significance and is one of the major tourist attractions of the state of Bihar. Gaya is 255 kms from Varanasi and 100 kms south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. The city is surrounded on three sides by small, rocky hills (Mangla-Gauri, Shringa-Sthan, Ram-Shila, and Brahmayoni), with the Phalgu River on its fourth (eastern) side.
Gaya is sanctified in the Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist religions. Gaya district is mentioned in the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is the place where Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana, came to offer pind-daan for their father, Dasharath, and continues to be a major Hindu pilgrimage site for the pind-daan ritual. Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment, is one of the four holy sites of Buddhism. The Mahabodhi Temple complex at Bodh Gaya is a World Heritage site.
Pilgrimage
The city of Gaya is a holy place of Hinduism, with a great number of Hindu deities represented in the engravings, paintings and carvings of its shrines. Of particular importance are the sites in the city associated with Vishnu, in particular the Phalgu River and the shrine Vishnupad Mandir, or Vishnupada, which is marked by a large footprint of Lord Vishnu engraved in a basalt block. Gaya is the location at which Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana, offered pind-daan for his father, Dasharatha. Gaya become a site of key importance for the performance of the pind-daan ritual.
Gaya is considered to be one of the most ideal places to perform the Shraddha. As per Hindu belief system, it is believed that a person goes to hell if he dies in the following circumstances – if he meets an accidental death, if he dies without his consecrations being performed, or if he is killed by a wild animal. But, if ‘Shraddh rituals’ of that person are performed at ‘Gaya’ then the soul of such a person will get rid of the tortures of the hell and will go to heaven. Performing ‘Shraddh rituals’ here is of great importance as it helps one to get rid of ‘pitra rinna’ i.e. debts towards one’s ancestors (male forefathers).
World Heritage Site at Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya (“Buddha Gaya”), so named to distinguish it from the Hindu town centre of Gaya, is one of the four holiest sites of Buddhism and the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment.
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya was listed as a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The 50-metre-high (160 ft) Mahabodhi Temple central to the complex was first built by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. It is one of the earliest and best-preserved Buddhist temples built entirely of brick dating from the later Gupta period. The Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), the most important of the sacred places within the complex, is reputedly a descendant of the original tree under which Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. Marking this seminal moment, Bodh Gaya is one of the four holiest pilgrimage sites of Buddhism.