Bodh Gaya decked up with 'panchsheel' flags for Buddha jayanti

GAYA/PATNA: With multicoloured ‘panchsheel’ flags, the religious symbol of Buddhists, fluttering all around Bodh Gaya, the holy town is ready to celebrate the 2581st birth anniversary of Lord Buddha.

Falling on Saturday, the day also marks the rare coincidence of birth, enlightenment and salvation (death) on the same summer full moon day.

The celebrations will begin on Saturday morning with a peace march from the great Buddha statue to Mahabodhi temple. Besides robed monks, locals in large numbers would be also joining the march. The main prayer will be held under the sacred Bodhi tree.

Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), besides organising the main function on the shrine premises, plans to host a lunch for the monks and offer them the holy robe. As per the code for monks, robed men are supposed to have only one meal a day and that too, in the forenoon.

Illumination has also been done by the shrine management committee to present the place in the right ambience before pilgrims and other visitors including a sizeable number of foreigners. A two-day-long seminar on the relevance of Buddhism as a modern tool of conflict resolution titled ‘Buddhism: Harbinger of Inter-religious harmony’ concluded on Friday.

According to Gaya DM Abhishekh Singh, arrangements have been made for the comfortable stay of Buddhists visiting Bodh Gaya from different parts of the country including Maharashtra. The pilgrims from within the country have been accommodated at Kalchakra Maidan and Children’s Park. Free bus service from airport and Gaya station has also been arranged for them.

In Patna, monks from BTMC, Rajgir and Vaishali will conduct prayer service at Karuna Stupa at Buddha Smriti Park from 10am. Later, the monks would hold a prayer session near the Gautam Buddha where trees have been planted from Sri Lanka, Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh) and Bodh Gaya.

Administrative in charge of Buddha Smriti Park, Md Ayaz Ahmad said, “Monks would also chant verses in Chinese, Tibetian and Japanese. After the prayer services, the park will be open to the visitors. Entry at the park will be free for the day. People can also participate in ‘ana pana’, a kind of meditation, which would be held four times at an interval of two hours.” Later in the evening, a magnificent laser show would delight the audience.