Hi all The Bodhgaya Temple, or Mahabodhi Vihara as it is also known, was erected in the place where Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment some two thousand five hundred years ago. Its origins are lost in time, but it is known that King Ashoka erected a shrine to Buddha here in the third century B.C.
In spite of extensive research by scholars, until this day no one has been able to give a definate date as to when this present temple was built, who constructed it or how long it took to be completed. It is generally believed that the Great Stupa must have come into existence between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D.
To Buddhists from all over the globe, the Great Stupa of the Mahabodhi Vihara is revered as the holiest of holy places and acts as a Mecca for hundreds of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims every year. the temple is a fifty metre tall (170 feet) pyramidal tower, crowned with a bell like Stupa.(!!!!!!!!)
The base is a fifteen metre square two-storey structure ( !!!!!)
I have posted a comparitive photo in the photos section but truly it doesnt do justice to the similarities.