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About 250 years after the Enlightenment, Buddhist Emperor Ashoka visited Bodh Gaya with the intention of establishing a monastery, shrine, and erecting the diamond throne (called the Vajrasana), the Seat of Enlightenment. He is considered the founder of the Mahabodhi Temple.
During the 12th century AD, Bodh Gaya and the nearby regions were invaded by Muslim armies. Afterward, the Mahabodhi Temple fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned. During the 16th century, a Hindu monastery was established near Bodh Gaya. Over the following centuries, the monastery's abbot or mahant became the area's primary landholder and claimed ownership of the Mahabodhi Temple grounds.
In the 1880's, the new British government began to restore Mahabodhi Bodhi under the direction of Alexander Cunningham. A short time later, in 1891, the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala started a campaign to return control of the temple to Buddhists, over the objections of the mahant. The campaign was partially successful in 1949, when control passed to a temple management committee. The committe has nine members, a majority of whom, including the chairman, must by law be Hindus.
The Mahabodhi Temple, as of 2002, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site specifically nominated for the international World heritage program.
The members of the temple management committee, as of March, 2002, are:
History
Current Status