Kolkata: The British Museum is all set to launch book on different phases Bodh Gaya soon.
"The book is based on Sir Alexander Cunningham (the first Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India) archive on Bodh Gaya. It will be published soon by The British Museum," said Dr Daniela De Simone, ERC Project Curator: ERC Synergy Project, Department of Asia, The British Museum, after delivering a lecture on 'Bodh Gaya: The Tree, The Throne, and The Temple – A Re-assessment of the Archaeological Evidence' at Indian Museum on Saturday.
She reiterated that the reason of launching the book is to make Cunningham archive materials out so that other people in the world could access it.
While Cunningham was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group, he later took an interest in the History and Archaeology of India. He was appointed to the newly created position of Archaeological Surveyor to the Government of India in 1861.
Cunningham wrote several books and monographs and made extensive collections of artefacts. While some of his collections were lost, most of the gold and silver coins and a fine group of Buddhist sculptures and jewellery were bought by the British Museum in 1894. "The book will reveal that how Mahabodhi temple looked before and after the arrival of British in India. I will tell the name of the book later. The book will have articles on Vajrasana, inscriptions and different phases of Bodh Gaya," said Simone.
Bodh Gaya, religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, is situated in Gaya district of Bihar.
The temple is of great relevance as it marks the most important event in the life of Lord Buddha, the moment when Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment and became Buddha. He was a monk, mendicant, sage, philosopher, teacher and religious leader on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.
It might be mentioned that no written records about Budhha were found from his lifetime or from the one or two centuries thereafter.
However, Emperor Ashoka's, a follower of Buddha, Rummindei Minor Pillar edict commemorates his pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace.