In India, it is Bihar that embraces place of pride in the Buddhist circuit and trail, not only for Bodhgaya and the famous Mahabodhi Tree, but also because this is where that young prince spent the majority of his life, attempting to understand life and man, spreading his scholarship and new religion.

If Bihar is the historic centre of Buddhism in India, then Bodhgaya is its heart. It is here that 25 centuries ago, young Siddhartha sat under a Peepul tree, perhaps confused and disheartened, vowing not to rise till he attained supreme awareness. And thus was born the Buddha, and a philosophy that spread through all of Asia, largely without the support of military crusade and crushing destruction. The world’s fourth largest religion finds its epicentre in tiny little Bodhgaya, filled with large monasteries, beautiful temples built by other nations in their own inimitable style and form of worship, and a serenity that pervades the air despite the constant bustle.

Bihar’s Bodhgaya Temple, the spiritual home of Buddhism, comes alive every winter as hundreds of monks and pilgrims from all over the world come to pay their respects and perform countless prostrations, a rigorous purification ritual.

Winter sees an influx of pilgrims, monks and tourists, and Bodhgaya is transformed into a carnival of orange and red with several Asian languages mingling in the cool morning air. While time spent under the Mahabodhi tree, apparently the fifth descendant of the original tree, brings a sense of peace and tranquillity, a visit to the many temples and monasteries gives one a glimpse into the nuances of Buddhism practiced around Asia. This is where it all began!

But it is not just Bodhgaya that is venerated in Bihar, full of other important Buddhist sites. A couple of hours from Gaya is the ancient university of Nalanda, now a UNESCO site, and probably one of the best maintained ancient sites.

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