Later, in 236 BC, the Buddhist nun Sanghamitta Maha Theri was sent by Emperor Asoka from India to Sri Lanka. It became known as the Bodhi tree, and pilgrims came to see it even within the lifetime of the Buddha. In doing so, the tree also gained a venerated status. It was at this moment, as he sat against the tree, that the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment. Not only is it the closest authentic living link to Gautama Buddha, it is also the oldest human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date and a recorded history.Ībout 2,600 years ago, Lord Gautama Buddha sat with his back against an Esathu tree on the banks of the Neranjana River in Bodhgaya, India. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred Bo tree, or Ficus religiosa, that stands in the Mahamewna Gardens in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. 6 The Principal Buddha of the Śrī Mahā Bodhi Shrine.However, access to the uppermost terrace where the bo tree is located is restricted due to the old age of the tree and various acts of vandalism it has endured throughout history, including a terrorist attack by LTTE in 1985, where around 146 pilgrims were massacred.
The site is open to visitors and continuously hosts numerous acts of worship throughout the year. The site is currently administered by the Chief High Priest of Atamasthana and the Atamasthana Palakasabha, the administrative body of the Atamasthana, and receives millions of pilgrims each year. Today, the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi is situated on a high terrace, about 6.5 meters above the ground, and surrounded by 4 other lower-level terraces with Bo trees called “Parivara Bodhi” planted for its protection. The Mahavamsa, or the great chronicle of the Sinhalese, provides an elaborate account of the establishment of the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi on the Island and the subsequent development of the site as a major Buddhist pilgrimage site. It is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date and is more than 2300 years old now. The Buddhist nun Sangamitta Maha Theri, a daughter of Indian Emperor Ashoka, in 288 BC, brought the tree cutting to Sri Lanka during the reign of Sinhalese King Devanampiya Tissa.
This is believed to be a tree grown from a cutting of the southern branch from the historical sacred bo tree, Sri Maha Bodhi, at Buddha Gaya in India, under which Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) attained Enlightenment. Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi ( Sinhala: ජය ශ්රී මහා බොධිය) is a sacred bo tree in the Mahamewna Garden in historical city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
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