The Mahantas of Bodhgayā Maṭha and the Mahābodhi Temple: Shared Sacred Heritage and Custodianship by K.T.S. Sarao

ABOUT US BOOKS SUBJECTS SERIES PUBLISH WITH US CONTACT

vikramjain@sanctumbooks.com

Home:Subjects:	Buddhism & Buddhist Studies Hinduism History, Culture & Politics

Front Cover

Back Cover

The Mahantas of Bodhgayā Maṭha and the Mahābodhi Temple: Shared Sacred Heritage and Custodianship
Author:	K.T.S. Sarao
ISBN:	9789376540358
Binding:	Hardcover
Year:	2027
Pages:	174
Size:	16 x 24 cm
Price:	INR1495.00
	FORTHCOMING

About the Book

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the custodial role historically exercised by the Mahantas of the Bodhgayā Maṭha over the Mahābodhi Temple and its wider sacred complex. It encompasses the temple itself, the revered pīpal tree, and the ritual sarovara. It situates this custodianship within the broader interplay of personalities and institutions that have shaped the contestations surrounding the site, highlighting the political and ideological currents that have influenced its governance and identity. Particular attention has been devoted to the contributions and interventions of Victorian Indologists, colonial administrators, the Shaiva Giri Mahantas, President Rajendra Prasad, and Anagārika Dharmapāla. Their roles are analysed in relation to the material milieu of Bodhgayā, not only in terms of its religious identity but also in the dynamics of access to spiritual resources, conservation, and the site’s development as a pluralistic sacred landscape. The study underscores how vested interests have sought to transform this shared heritage into a terrain of political conflict, thereby obscuring its historical character as a locus of diverse devotional traditions.

About the Author

K.T.S. Sarao

K.T.S. Sarao presently holds the SCO Chair Professorship on Shared Buddhist Heritage at Nālandā University. Prior to this appointment, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi. He has dual doctoral degrees from the University of Delhi and the University of Cambridge. Among his major publications are The Origin and Nature of Ancient Indian Buddhism (1989, reissued 2009), Urban Centres and Urbanisation as Reflected in the Pāli Vinaya and Sutta Piṭakas (1990, reissued 2009), Pilgrimage to Kailash: The Indian Route (2009), The Dhammapada: A Translator’s Guide (2009), The Decline of Buddhism in India: A Fresh Perspective (2012), Encyclopedia of Indian Religions: Buddhism and Jainism (jointly with J.D. Long, 2017), The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya (2020), Baku’s Temple of Eternal Fire (2021). In 2011, the P.S. Royal Buddhist University, Phnom Penh, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) in acknowledgement of his special contribution to Buddhist Studies. On Independence Day, 2018, the President of India awarded him the Certificate of Honour for his outstanding scholarship in the Pāli language. More recently, at the Tenth Convocation of the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, held on 11 March 2025, he was conferred the Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa).

Customer Reviews