A sapling of the sacred Bodhi Tree at the World Heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodhgaya will be sent to China and Mongolia each.
The two nations would be the countries after Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Nepal and Bhutan, to have an offspring of the Bodhi Tree under which prince Siddhartha sat on meditation and attained enlightenment over 2,500 years ago.
A special messenger and a gardener from Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), left Bodhgaya for New Delhi along with two saplings on Thursday. On reaching New Delhi, scientists from the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, provided necessary treatment to the saplings, including chemical spraying.
After examining the saplings and giving necessary nutrients on Friday, the FRI scientists issued phytosanitary certificate to the sapling. Phytosanitary certificate is issued when a sapling is fit to be carried outside.
The BTMC has signed an MoU with the FRI for the maintenance and the upkeep of the Bodhi Tree. Around 15 days back, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) had sent a letter addressed to the Bihar government for the sapling.
It was mentioned in the letter that a high-level delegation would carry the sapling during visits to China and Mongolia this month. A permission from the state home department was sought and after getting a clearance from there, the sapling was prepared out of the seeds fallen from the Bodhi Tree.
After the sapling grows, the gardener preserves it. Such preserved saplings when in need officially are sent abroad only with specific permission of the Bihar government. Before sending the saplings to Delhi, Mahavihara chief monk Bhikkhu Chalinda performed special prayers before the statue of Lord Buddha in the sanctum sanctorum and prayed for the saplings' long life so that they grow into a big tree when planted.
President Pranab Mukherjee had gifted the sapling to his Vietnam counterpart Truong Tan Sang during his visit to Vietnam in September this year. In May last year, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had gifted the sapling to Thailand king Bhumibol Adulyadej during his visit to Thailand. In March, the sapling was sent to the President of South Korea Park Geun-hye as a fulfilment of offer by Manmohan Singh during her visit to India in January this year.
