A Shifting River, Shifting Narratives: The Sacred Landscape of Mahabodhi

Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, was a major Buddhist sacred site for nearly two thousand years. This paper argues that its sacred landscape was far larger than the three commonly excavated sites. Drawing on historical, archaeological, and geospatial evidence, it identifies 40 features showing that Mahābodhi extended in all directions from the Mahabodhi Temple. The study also suggests that the Lilajan’s present course, about 250 metres east of the temple, differs from the historical Nirañjanā, which lay roughly 1.5 kilometres further east. This later shift in the river cut through and divided the site, reshaping how the sacred landscape is understood and pointing to new directions for future research.