Rajani, MB and Dutta, Sanjukta
(2025)
A Shifting River, Shifting Narratives: The Sacred Landscape of Mahabodhi.
South Asian Studies.
Full text not available from this repository.
| Abstract: |
Bodh Gaya, located on the western bank of the river Lilajan in south Bihar, India, is renowned as the place where the Buddha had achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. As Mahābodhi, it held a pre-eminent position in the Buddhist sacred geography of pre-modern Asia for nearly two thousand years. Yet, despite its tremendous religious significance, the historical expanse of its sacred landscape remains uncertain. This paper analyses historical, archaeological, geospatial, and geomorphological data to reveal how Mahābodhi’s landscape was significantly larger than the three excavated sites within the Bodh Gaya area: Mahabodhi temple-complex, Taradih mound, and Sujata Kuti stūpa. It identifies 40 archaeological features that together demonstrate how Mahābodhi’s precincts extended in all directions from the Mahabodhi Temple, and across the river. Notable findings include a monastic complex with a moat to the north, various enclosures to the south, and a significant complex with several structures and a large tank to the east, across the river. A major hypothesis is that the current course of the Lilajan differs from the historical Nirañjanā, thereby suggesting that all these features were originally on one side of the river. The paper also provides key insights for future archaeological research at Bodh Gaya. |
| Item Type: |
Journal Paper
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| Subjects: |
School of Humanities > Heritage Studies |
| Divisions: |
Schools > Humanities |
| Date Deposited: |
16 Dec 2025 09:11 |
| Last Modified: |
16 Dec 2025 09:11 |
| Official URL: |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02666... |
| Related URLs: |
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| Funders: |
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| Projects: |
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| DOI: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2025.2593722 |
| URI: |
http://eprints.nias.res.in/id/eprint/3015 |
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