Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.46

v2.c11.46

Bodhagaya Mahabodhi Temple, more than 10 km away from the south of Gaya in Bihar was also a famous Buddhist architecture. According to legend, Sakyamuni has even sat in meditation under the banyan here. This temple was built in the same period with the Great Stupa at Sanchi. Xuanzang said in *Great Tang Records on the Western Regions* that "it is 160 ft high, 20 paces wide, being built with blue bricks and coated with lime. Each floor has a Buddha statue, with beautiful carving". Later, the Buddhist architectures were mainly temples and grotto temples, spread across India. The most famous one was in Nalanda in southeast of Patna, Bihar. It was built in the period of Gupta Dynasty, the first half of 5ᵗʰ century CE, and was the academic centre of Indian Buddhism. After repeated expansion, it has a grand and magnificent palace, and is well-known overseas. However, these temples were destroyed during Tujue Muslim invasion in 12ᵗʰ century CE.