Spiritual guru Ven. Nanda accompanying Bala Sanga, on of the injured monks from Myanmar, recounts the early morning horror in a brief chat with Alok Kumar. Known as a centre of meditation for Buddhist monks across the world, the Mahabodhi Mahavihara campus turned out to be a zone of terror for they had a brush with death from close quarters on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning. Only survival strategy they had was to run, and run, till they chanced upon some people from the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee. For thousands of monks who stay at the temple town, the series of blasts came as a surprise on Sunday.
I was accompanying my disciple Bala Sanga who was preparing for a pradakshina (making a round) of the Bodhi tree around 5.25am.
Pradakshina of the Bodhi tree on the Mahabodhi Mahavihara campus is a daily morning ritual without which other devotional practices won’t start for the day.
No sooner had I bowed down near the Vajrasana, under the Bodhi tree just behind the sanctum sanctorum towards west, than a bomb went off. The blast caused serious injuries in the face, hand, stomach and chest of Bala Sanga, who is also a research scholar of Myanmar Buddhist Academy Centre affiliated to Magadh University.
Before monks and other devotees could become alert, three more blasts took place on an interval of nearly two minutes.
In the third blast that took place at Animesh Lochan near another peepal tree on Mahavihara campus. I heard in this blast Tibetan monk Tenzin Lama — who was accompanied by another Tibetan monk Sonam — got his left ankle and right knee injured.
Soon, monks and other devotees present on the Mahavihara campus started fleeing outside the premises.
Although having his ankle and knee injured, and blood oozing out of the wounds, Tenzin was seen running outside the Mahavihara leaving behind bloodstains on the floor. Tenzin ran nearly 150 metres to reach outside the Mahavihara campus under this condition when Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee staff and other private security personnel took him to the Bodhgaya primary health centre.
However, Bala Sanga was not in his senses even to run for safety. He was lifted by the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee staff and the security personnel up to the primary health centre. The doctors, after providing first aid, referred both to Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital.
Although it was a low-intensity blast, its sound was heard in a radius of around half km. Bhikkhu Rahul, who was staying at the Mahabodhi Society of India Bodhgaya branch, goes to Mahabodhi Mahavihara everyday for prayers between 5am and 6 am. However, today being Sunday he had changed the timing of his Mahavihara visit to 8am. Later, he was seen telling reporters that when he was getting ready to visit the Mahabodhi shrine for the daily routine, he heard the thunderous sound in a series.
The Mahabodhi Society of India Bodhgaya branch is situated just at a distance of around 150 metres northwest of the Mahabodhi shrine. Soon, the scene in Bodhgaya was changed. The place, which is known across the world as a symbol of peace, was flooded with security personnel. It turned out to be a very unfortunate morning in the land where Buddha attained enlightenment.
I shall never forget the bloodstain on the stairs of the temple where we spent many a peaceful morning.
