Bodhi Tree
Bodhi Tree · The Sacred Fig Under Which the Buddha Awoke
The sacred fig of the genus Ficus, beneath which Siddhartha Gautama attained awakening at the age of thirty-five in Bodh Gaya around the 6th century BCE. The Sanskrit bodhi means awakening, and the species name Ficus religiosa means religious fig. The tree now standing beside the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya descends from the original, while its oldest granddaughter is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi planted by the nun Sanghamitta in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, in 288 BCE.
