Orugallu Andhalu - History & Cultures

 Published by Orugallu Andhalu On the banks of the ancient Niranjana River, a place once known as Uruvela became one of the most important sacred landscapes in Asia. Here, Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree and became the Buddha.  The teaching that emerged from that awakening traveled far beyond this quiet landscape. Kings, monks, merchants, and ordinary pilgrims carried Buddhism across India and into distant parts of Asia. Yet the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment remained at the physical and spiritual heart of that tradition. The history of Bodh Gaya is much larger than the moment of enlightenment. Over more than two thousand years, the sacred site was visited by emperors, described by Chinese pilgrims, marked by stone inscriptions, enlarged by regional rulers, and repaired by patrons who traveled from far beyond the Indian subcontinent. Its name changed as its history unfolded. In the inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka, the site is call...