Introduction and Geographic Situation

About a hundred kilometers south of the state capital, Patna, is located Bodh Gaya, a small city in the State of Bihar, in India with a population of (more than) 30, 000. Bodh Gaya is best known for being the most sacred place of Buddhism.

Bihar is placed in the eastern part of the country (between 83°-30' to 88°-00' longitude) and it is an entirely land–locked state, (even though the exit to the sea through the port of Kolkata is not far away).

Bihar lies mid-way between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is bounded by Nepal in the north and by Jharkhand in the south. The Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves by the river Ganga which flows through the middle from west to east.” (http://gov.bih.nic.in/Profile/default.htm) 

Bodh Gaya is the principal Buddhist pilgrimage in the world; it’s here where Siddharta Gautama became enlightened during intense meditation under a banyan tree, the holy Bodhi Tree. In the exact spot is now the Mahabodhi Temple Complex. Bodh Gaya is the home of dozens of Buddhist monasteries.