Mahabodhi Vihara, Hyderabad, India
high-definition creative commons photographs from Mahabodhi Vihara, Hyderabad, India together with further information.
use j/k or left/right arrow
to navigate through the photos below
The Mahābodhi Vihāra
The land for what is now the Mahabodhi Vihara (Mahābodhi Vihāra) in Secunderabad, Hyderabad was made available by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Śrī Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, who was just one of many Chief Ministers to support the project over the years. The main patron since the beginning is the Mahā Upāsaka, Mr. Anjaneya Reddy.
The initial temple built here was called the Ānanda Buddha Vihāra, and was opened by HH Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, on 6th April 2003 (2546), but after a few years it was given to the Mahābodhi Society in Bangalore.
Various additions have been added to the original buildings, including a sīma in 2015, a Bodhi Tree complex, and a Buddha Dhātu Stūpa in 2019. Presently they have started building meditation quarters, owing to the generous donation of the present Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy.
The Buddha Dhātu Stūpa
The Buddha relic for the stūpa was provided by Ajahn Dun, and was enshrined by Bhikkhu Bodhi in the presence of Ven Hikkaduwe Visuddhānanda, with Ven Kassapa presiding on 13th January 2019. The stūpa is designed in Amaravati-style, with reliefs illustrating the life of the Buddha on the drum.
The Life of the Buddha
The conception shows Mahāmāyā lying on a bed with her eyes closed, while the Four Great Kings surround and protect her during the night. At the bottom centre we see a female musician who has fallen asleep on her drum, indicating this is night time. Strangely, the elephant who entered her side during the night is not shown here. In the sky on the right we see the full Āsāḷha (July) moon.
The birth of the Bodhisatta in the Park at Lumbini is shown on this relief. Queen Mahāmāya is shown holding a branch of the Sāla tree (Shorea robusta), holding cloth are the Four Great Kings, and Devas are seen in the sky around. The Bodhisatta himself is not seen but is represented by the waterpot at his mother’s feet, recalling the text from the Mahā-ummagga Jātaka: “...as he came from his mother’s womb she did not feel the slightest pain, but he passed out as easily as water from a sacred water-pot.”
Prince Siddhattha is seen in his palace surrounded by female musicians holding vinas and drums, many of whom have fallen asleep. They lie around in various poses, being dishevelled and unattractive. It is this scene that precedes the renunciation, and is out of position here, as it should come after the following signs.
The Bodhisatta goes into the town with Channa, his charioteer, and sees an old man, a sick man and a dead man, which makes him question his comfortable existence in the palace, as he finds out these things he too must suffer.
After seeing the first three signs, which warn of the dangers of Saṁsāra, on his next trip he sees a mendicant living peaceably in the forest, and finds out he is seeking release from suffering, and determines on the same path for himself.
The Bodhisatta determines on leaving the palace and seeking out the truth and liberation. Here he is seen on his favourite horse Kanthaka. The hooves of the horse are cushioned by Devas so his leaving doesn’t wake anyone to his intent. Channa holds an umbrella over the prince as he follows behind.
After attaining higher levels of meditation the Bodhisatta strives for six years undertaking strict practices of asceticism. Around him stand people worshipping and ready to offer nurishment when he is ready to take it.
The Bodhisatta eventually realises the way of asceticism is not the way to Awakening, and decides to seek balance by taking reasonable nurishment again. The group of five seen with him in this relief think it means he has given up striving altogether and decide to leave him.
The Bodhisatta takes up his place on the Invincible Throne, which is where Māra, in a last desperate effort to prevent him, brings his hordes to attack him. Māra himself is seated on the elephant Girimekhala, and wild animals like lions, boar, bulls and snakes surround the Bodhisatta, who, however, remains unmoved.
After his Awakening the Buddha spent seven weeks around the Bodhi Tree, after which Bhallika and Tapussa wished to offer food to the Buddha. As he no longer had a bowl, the Four Great Kings came and offered bowls to him, which merged and became one as seen here.
The Buddha went to Isipatana to offer his first systematic teachings to the former group of five. In the relief we see not five but six monastics on the Buddha’s left, which seems to be a mistake. The rest of the figures represent the Devas and men he will now dedicate his life to teaching.
After the group of five had attained Arahatship, and following the teaching on the discourse on no self, Yasa, a young man from a good family, also ordains. It is possible the six monastics we see in this relief represent these six, though the number makes it ambiguous.
The Buddha kept his promise made before his Awakening to return to Rājagaha and teach King Bimbisāra. The King, seeing his wishes fulfilled, offered a dāna to the Buddha and his monastics, and afterwards offered the Veḷuvana (Bamboo Grove) as a suitable place for them to reside while staying in the city. Here we see the King pouring the waters of donation over the Buddha’s hands, with his Queen to his left. This is the first monastery, and is seen as the establishment of the Sāsana.
I am not sure about this relief, but it probably represents the Buddha’s meeting with his family at Kapilavatthu. We see seven royal figures on the left of the relief and two monastics on the right. The Buddha is sat with one leg pendulant teaching in the middle.
The rich merchant Anāthapiṇḍika first met the Buddha in Rājagaha, where he was visiting his brother-in-law. He invited the Buddha to come and teach in Sāvatthi in Kosala, and meanwhile acquired the Jetavana for their residence. On the right we see Anāthapiṇḍika pouring the waters of donation. In the centre a servant lays gold coins to cover the Grove his master is buying.
There are two scenes in this relief. On the right we see the enraged elephant Nālagiri running amock, trampling down people in his way, while on the left the Buddha tames him with his mettā, or loving-kindness.
Cunda the smith offers a meal to the Buddha, which was to be his last meal. Having given up the life-force (āyusaṅkhāra) some three months earlier the Buddha traveled on after the meal to Kusinārā.
In Kusinārā the Buddha lay down between two Sāla trees, and to the distress of all but the Arahats, passed away. Ānanda stands at his head. What is presumably Subhadda, the last monastic ordained while the Buddha lived sits with his back to us, having left the tripod he had previously carried at the side.
When the Buddha had passed away and been cremated a war almost broke out between claimants for the relics. That is when the Brahmin Doṇa came forward and divided the relics into eight portions, which we see being carried off on elephants in this relief. There were two more relics: one of the measure that had been used to make the division; and another of the charcoal from the cremation. These are not pictured here though.
The Five-Pillared Āyaka
At Amarāvatī and other Andhran stūpas part of the design was to include Āyaka platforms at the cardinal points, these generally had five pillars which had symbols indicating five main events from the Buddha’s life story: the elephant, which appeared to Queen Mahāmāyā in a dream, respesents the conception; the horse upon which Sidhhattha set out on his quest for Awakening represents the Great Renunciation; the Bodhi Tree with an empty seat, is an aniconic representation of the Buddha at the Awakening; the deer and Dhammacakka signal the First Teaching; and the stūpa represents the passing away.
The Bodhi Tree
The Bodhi Tree has been planted on a raised platform within an amphitheatre, where monastics and others can sit to hear teachings, or where they can meditate in peace.
The Main Shrine Hall
The design of the main shrine hall follows the great shrine at Karle in Maharasthra, one of the earliest and most beautiful of the cave temples of that state. It has many interesting features including a cut-away aniconic Buddha above the door; and stained glass windows depicting Jātaka stories.
My thanks are due to the head monk Ven. Buddhapāla, and the three other monks in the temple: Ven Kalyāṇasiri, Ven Jinavaṁsa and Ven Saṅghapāla for making my stay comfortable, and informing me about the history of the temple. Ven Saṅghapāla also showed me around the temple, and traveled with me to Kanaganahalli. I am also in debt to the kind novices who looked after me while I was in the temple, especially Ven Bodhisena, with whom I had a number of Dhamma discussions.
Photographs by Anandajoti Bhikkhu
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License