In the ancient city of Anuradhapura, surrounded by terraces, railings and fluttering prayer flags, grows a fig tree that Buddhists around the world hold in deep reverence. It is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, believed to have grown from a branch of the very tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gayā. It is widely regarded as the oldest living tree in the world with a documented planting date.
The tree of awakening
The Bodhi tree is a sacred fig (Ficus religiosa), known in Pali as the assattha. On the night of his awakening, the Bodhisatta sat beneath such a tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā river and resolved not to rise until he had realised the truth. When he arose as the Buddha, the tree became forever known as the Bodhi, the tree of awakening. The texts say that in the weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha spent time gazing at the tree in gratitude for the shelter it had given him.
You can read about his awakening in Who Was the Buddha? and about how it is celebrated each year in The Meaning of Vesak.
Sanghamittā’s voyage
According to the Mahāvaṃsa and Dīpavaṃsa, after Arahant Mahinda brought the Dhamma to Sri Lanka, King Devānampiya Tissa wished to receive a branch of the Bodhi tree, and Queen Anulā and her companions wished to be ordained as nuns. Emperor Asoka sent his daughter, the nun Sanghamittā, to fulfil both wishes.
The chronicles describe how Asoka, with great ceremony, took the southern branch of the tree and placed it in a golden vessel. Sanghamittā and her companions carried it down the Ganges and across the sea, landing in the north of the island at a port called Jambukola. King Devānampiya Tissa is said to have waded into the water to receive it and to have carried it on his own head. After a procession lasting several days, the branch was planted in the Mahāmeghavana park in Anuradhapura.
Sri Lankan tradition remembers this arrival on the full moon of Unduvap, usually in December. That day is celebrated as Sanghamittā Day, and it is one of the important days in the Poya calendar.
More than two thousand years
According to the traditional chronology of the chronicles, the tree was planted in about 288 BCE. Some modern historians, working from different reckonings of Asoka’s reign, would place it a few decades later. Either way, the Sri Maha Bodhi has been tended continuously by human hands for over two thousand years, and its history has been recorded by kings and chroniclers century after century — which is why it is described as the oldest documented planted tree.
The chronicles also tell that saplings grown from the tree’s seeds were planted at other sacred sites around the island, so that many Bodhi trees in Sri Lankan temples today are regarded as its descendants. The Sri Maha Bodhi is one of the Aṭamasthāna, the eight great sacred places of Anuradhapura, and the city as a whole is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Worship and care today
Every day, devotees come to the tree to offer flowers, light oil lamps, pour water at its roots and chant. Walking around the terrace, you will hear the steady sound of verses being recited and see people sitting quietly in meditation. Common practices include:
- Bodhi pūjā: a devotional ceremony of offerings and chanting, often performed for blessings, protection or the welfare of loved ones.
- Watering the tree: pilgrims carry pots of water in procession to pour at the tree’s base, especially during dry periods.
- Lamp offerings: rows of small clay lamps are lit in the evening as a symbol of wisdom dispelling darkness.
- Poya observance: on full moon days many white-clad devotees take the precepts and spend the day near the tree. See How to Observe Poya.
The ancient tree itself is now quite fragile, and it stands on a raised terrace protected by railings. Its branches are supported by props, and its care is overseen by the custodians of the temple, with the help of specialists in tree health. Visitors are not allowed to touch the tree directly; devotion is expressed from the terraces around it.
Why honour a tree?
Buddhists do not worship the Bodhi tree as a god. Rather, it is honoured as a reminder of the Buddha and his awakening — one of the kinds of objects the tradition calls “reminders” (cetiya). Just as we might keep a photograph of a beloved teacher, the tree brings the Buddha’s qualities to mind: patience, determination, wisdom and compassion. Devotion of this kind softens the heart and gladdens the mind, which supports meditation and good conduct.
What we can learn
The Sri Maha Bodhi has survived invasions, droughts and the rise and fall of kingdoms, because generation after generation chose to care for it. In the same way, the Dhamma is preserved only when people choose to practise it and pass it on. Sanghamittā’s long journey reminds us that the teaching reached us through the effort and kindness of many people. When we stand before the ancient tree — or any Bodhi tree — we can remember the Buddha’s great resolve and ask how we might carry something of that resolve into our own lives.
Reflection: next time you see a Bodhi tree at a temple, pause for a moment. Recall the Buddha sitting beneath it, and make a small resolution of your own for your practice.
