A visit to the Bodh Gaya archaeological museum makes one realize and imagine the turbulent phases of the history associated with the site. The Museum is home to several ancient statues of the Buddha, the majority of which lie in mutilated form in the galleries. The remains of the ancient railing that surrounded the Bodhi tree in the Mauryan and later ages, now adorn the gallery of the Archaeological Museum. The temple as seen presently was built sometime in the 7th century A.D. The Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang also probably found the temple in largely the same form as seen today during his visit. The temple was repaired later on several occasions, till about 1306 A.D by the Burmese, when Buddhism in the area declined. 


The site was then for centuries left deserted, abandoned and neglected by the population. It was reclaimed again by the forests nearby and reduced to the same state as it was hundreds of years earlier, when the Sakyamuni had found solace in the solitude of the greens. History often repeats itself. A forest was reconverted into a forest. It was interestingly in the late 16th century that another wandering ascetic named Shri Ghamandi Giri*, himself a follower of the Shankaracharya’s fold, who was searching solitude for meditation arrived at the same very banks of the Neranjara, unaware of the earlier history of the place. At that time, the place had been overtaken by the forest, and the remains of earlier times were in ruins. The ascetic Giri settled among the ruins and spent his time in meditation. He found the place most peaceful and suitable for the founding of a Math, since it contained the ruins of old temples extensively. The material from the ruins was used extensively for the construction of new temples and buildings in the Math. Many of the images, earlier used as decorative panels in the older temples, now became objects of worship by the Mahants and the local populace.

To be continued....