Gaya, Jan. 16: At least 1,000 people, including monks, today traced the route undertaken by Gautam Buddha before attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Mahavihara.
The Gaya district administration organised the secondGyan Yatra, from the Pragbodhi caves at Dhungeshwari hills to the World Heritage temple in Bodhgaya this morning. The first one was held last year, on the eve of the Bodh Mahotsav at the Kalchakra ground in Bodhgaya, around 112km south of Patna. This time, too, it was no different. This year's Bodh Mahotsav starts tomorrow and chief minister Nitish Kumar will inaugurate the three-day festival in the evening.
The 9km walk, flagged off by district magistrate-cum-Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee chairman Kumar Ravi, started at 7.30am from Pragbodhi caves where the Buddha meditated for six years before starting his journey to attain enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. More than 1,000 people, including monks, devotees, administrative officials and people from different walks of life, joined in the walk amid chants of Buddhist sutras. It concluded at the Mahabodhi Mahavihara, around 200m from the Kalchakra ground, around 11am.
Before reaching the Mahabodhi Mahavihara today, participants of the Gyan Yatra were offered kheer in earthen bowls at Sujatagarh (Buddhist texts mention a woman named Sujata, who offered kheer to Buddha at this location).
Kumar Ravi said: "The yatra traced the route Prince Siddharth took before becoming Gautam Buddha. It will be developed as a direct link between Dhungeshwari and Bodhgaya, reducing the distance to just 9km. At present, devotees and tourists wanting to visit Dhungeshwari hills have to take the Gaya-Bodhgaya bypass road, a 17km-long route. There is also proposal to construct a bridge on the Muhane river."
The tourism department, Gaya district administration and the BTMC organised the walk in which representatives of different monasteries, hotel associations, tour operators, guide associations and foreign tourists among others participated.
All the participants were offered Panchsheel flags and khada (a sacred piece of cloth).
