The Sri Maha Bodhi - time-tested icon of Buddhism

Prof. W. I. SIRIWEERA

Buddhism in its initial phase accommodated and synthesized certain pre-Buddhistic beliefs. Thus, the pre-Buddhistic tree worship as well as the veneration of the mounds in which the corporal remains of important personalities were deposited were absorbed into Buddhist culture. In fact a new meaning was attached to pre-Buddhistic symbols and the Stupa and the Bodhi Tree represented symbols of acculturation.

The Asvatta tree under which the ascetic Siddhartha attained enlightenment, was considered as sacred in the Harappan civilization as well as in Vedic India. In the Upanishads and the Mahabharata it is referred to as the cosmic tree of life. From the time of the ascetic Siddhartha's enlightenment it came to be known as the Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa).

The Sri Maha Bodhi

The Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Samanthapasadika and several other texts refer to the dispatch of the Southern sapling of the Bodhi tree at Gaya by the emperor Asoka through theri Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (250-210 B. C. ). Asoka having performed rituals at Bodh-Gaya, sent the sapling placed in a golden vase through Sanghamitta and eleven other bhikkhunis accompanied by several groups of artisans. The group embarked at Tamralipti in Eastern India and arrived in Sri Lanka at Jambukolapattana (modern Sambiliturai).

Great procession

This event is portrayed in two bas-reliefs on the Eastern Gateway at Sanchi carved not long after the event. In the middle of one of the architraves is the Bodhi tree at Gaya with a large and solemn procession winding round it. A person in royal garb, presumably Asoka, is descending from his elephant. The middle relief on another architrave shows a small Bodhi plant, again with another great procession. The right side of the relief shows a noble personage kneeling before the foot prints representing the Buddha. The decorations on either side include peacocks and lions, the symbols of the Mauryas and the Sinhalese respectively.

King Devanampiya Tissa, thera Mahinda and the retinue that had come to Jambukolapattana from Anuradhapura received the sacred object with great honour. The Mahavamsa repeatedly emphasizes the fact that from this time onwards Devanampiya Tissa worshipped the sapling of the Bodhi tree by bestowing upon it his kingdom and kingship. This statement illustrates the symbiosis between the monarch and the Buddhist Order and between the monarch and the people. The monarch symbolizes his own recognition of the state's purpose and bestowing the kingdom on the Bodhi Tree acknowledges that royal authority is both delegated and responsible.

The chronicles provide information on the constructions and restorations at the Bodhi Shrine by different monarchs at different periods starting from the third century B.C. up to the 11th century A.D. It was the most important object of religious ritual and the symbol of royal authority in the initial stages of the spread of Buddhism. However, this importance was shared by the Tooth Relic when the latter was brought into the island during the reign of Srimegha Vanna (301-328).

Rituals

From the very beginning, an elaborate system of rituals had developed in the Srimahabodhi complex. Of these, watering the tree was considered as one of the most important rituals. Among others, the Kalinga Bodhi Jataka enumerates, the offering of flowers, lighting lamps, hanging garlands, hoisting flags and banners, burning incense, placing vases of plenty or Punnaghata, sprinkling the compound with sand, playing ritual music and circumambulation.

As long as the Bhikkhuni Order prevailed, the key figures involved in the ritual of watering were the bhikkhunis. The Mahakalattava inscription datable to the reign of Kassapa IV (899-914) records a decree of amnesty granted to a village called Gitelgamu(va) which had been set apart for the supply of four-fold requisites to the nuns of the Nalarama nunnery who daily watered the great Bodhi Tree of the Mahavihara.

When the centre of political authority shifted to Polonnaruwa, the sacred centres at Anuradhapura did not receive the same degree of attention and patronage they had received earlier. For instance, the Mahavamsa states that before Parakramabahu I (1153-1186) started restorations at Anuradhapura; the Ratnavaluka, Jetavana, Abhayagiri and Mariccaveti Thupas were overgrown with large trees and bears and panthers were found in the surroundings and that the ground of the jungle scarcely offered a foothold due to the piling up of bricks and earth.

Nevertheless, the Bodhi tree was not completely neglected. Vijayabahu I (1070-1111) who reestablished the Sinhala Buddhist Sovereignty by defeating the Cholas restored among others; the temple of the Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura and granted land for its maintenance. The Rajaratnakaraya states that when Parakramabahu I restored the former capital of Anuradhapura, he renovated the ritual complex at the Bodhi tree. Later on, during the reign of Queen Kalyanawathie (1202-1208), the Sri Maha Bodhi is mentioned as one of the three important sacred centres at Anuradhapura, the other two being the Thuparama and the Ruvanveli Chetiya.

Maintenance

When Rajarata civilization began to wither away from the middle of the 13th century, the Vanni chieftains who assumed authority over the isolated pockets of settlements there, were entrusted with the task of maintaining the sacred centres at Anuradhapura. Whether their human and material resources were sufficient for the task is doubtful. Most likely a small number of dedicated monks living in monasteries at Anuradhapura continued to maintain sacred precincts such as the Sri Maha Bodhi as well as they could even without royal patronage or the patronage of the Vanni Chieftains.

During the period of the Kandyan Kings, the most important centres of ritual were the Temple of the Tooth, Mahiyangana Thupa and the Sumanakuta. Nevertheless, Anuradhapura had not completely lost its importance. In the beginning of the 19th century, Major Forbes stated that the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhin Vahanse was the principal object of veneration to the numerous pilgrims who visited Anurahapura. James Emerson Tennent writing in 1859 stated that the branches of the Bodhi trees which had rambled at their will far beyond the outline of its enclosure, the pillars of masonry that supported them, the retaining walls, the time worn steps by which the place was approached and the stone carvings all indicated that the Bodhi tree had been watched over with abiding solicitude from extreme antiquity.

Sacred precincts

The rituals at the Bodhi precincts continued during this time as well and tremendous importance was attached to the protection of the tree. The Service Tenure Registers of 1870/71 throw some light on the assignment of land for services rendered at the sacred precincts of the Bodhi tree by performing rituals and protecting it in the 19th century. Even those who chased away crows from the tree had been allocated land. Obviously these allocations were done by the Kandyan Kings earlier.

Along with the colonization programmes in the Dry Zone in the first part of the 20th century, the precincts of the Bodhi tree received greater attention than in the 19th century. Once independence had been gained, there was more interest both among the Buddhist clergy and the political leaders in the improvement of the sacred precincts.

Thus the sacred Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura has stood the test of time and has survived for more than 2,200 years. Although the building complex of the Bodhi tree has been renovated and improved time and again without leaving any trace of its original structure, the religious rituals in the complex have continued throughout history.

The vicissitudes in the political trends have not seriously affected them. Perhaps the nature of the rituals as well as the services rendered by different social groups have changed from time to time, more so in quite recent times.

The history of the Bodhi tree and its ritual complex, particularly from the time of the collapse of the Rajarata civilization in the middle of the 13th century until the end of the 19th century, also suggests that irrespective of the depopulation of the Dry Zone during this period, dedicated monks and lay disciples living in isolated pockets of settlements at Anuradhapura have been able to preserve the sacred precincts.