Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s2.t13.4

v1.c7.s2.t13.4

The temple underwent further extension and renovation during the Pala-Sena dynasty (10th-12th century). Mahabodhi Vihar, which now exists, is the renovated structure of the same building. Its flourishing state and active status is also evidenced by two Chinese Song dynasty inscriptions of the late 10th and early 11th centuries. Other contemporary inscriptions note rulers of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and other Buddhist countries funding restoration and development projects. The temple site had such an appeal that its replicas were made in Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, China and Tibet which provide beautiful models of this grand temple complex. By the 12th century, with the rise of Indo-Turkic Muslim rule and the decline of Buddhism in the Indo-Gangetic area, the temple gradually decayed as the protector-monks abandoned the place. Deserted by the original Buddhist caretaker–monks, the place was then annexed by a local Brahmin leader as his private property. The ownership matter was finally resolved through a long legal battle waged by famous Sri Lankan monk, Anagarika Dharmapal, through a 1949 special Bodhgaya Temle Management Act that transferred it to a trust with equal number of Buddhist and Hindu representatives under the local district magistrate.