Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya

The Vajrasana (<a href="/facts/IAST/pkGIHRcw">IAST</a>: vajrāsana; diamond throne), or Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha, is an ancient stone slab located under the <a href="/facts/Bodhi_tree/M3KdTS8D">Bodhi tree</a>, directly beside the <a href="/facts/Mahabodhi_Temple/ApsGxxdE">Mahabodhi Temple</a> at <a href="/facts/Bodh_Gaya/940DyT3t">Bodh Gaya</a>. It is considered as <a href="/facts/Bodhimanda/xdp6lRQt">bodhimanda</a> (bodhimaṇḍa; seat or platform of enlightenment) of <a href="/facts/Gautama_Buddha/8UchTM1s">Gautama Buddha</a>. The slab is presumed to have been placed at the location during the reign of <a href="/facts/Maurya_Empire/STQagR1r">Maurya king</a> <a href="/facts/Ashoka/YsxDJyF2">Ashoka</a> between 250–233 BCE, at the spot where the Buddha meditated.
The <a href="/facts/Hetoimasia/NwUnIWLg">empty throne</a> was a focus of devotion in early <a href="/facts/Buddhism/G0wsjrSl">Buddhism</a>, treated as a <a href="/facts/Cetiya/eueafrKG">cetiya</a> or symbolic relic. It was not intended to be occupied, but operated as a symbol of the missing Buddha. Devotees often kneel in prayer before it. Being the site where Gautama Buddha <a href="/facts/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism/AGFXqGgz">achieved liberation</a>, <a href="/facts/Tibetan_Buddhist/xWbwElWv">Tibetan Buddhist</a> texts also use the term vajrasana to refer to Bodh Gaya itself.

Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya open-in-new

Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya