Gaya: Two 'monks' fight for offerings in Mahabodhi Temple

GAYA: At least two uninvited monks locked in a slugfest inside the Mahabodhi Temple over distribution of offerings made by the devotees near the sacred Bodhi tree on Sunday. The place is the symbol of Buddha’s enlightenment.

The scuffle took place during a special prayer organized by devotees from Vietnam to mark the end of “Varshavas” (rainy retreat) during which monks stay put in one place and meditate for three months.

The retreat ended on Sunday and the special prayer was organized to mark its conclusion. Monks are gifted robes and cash on the occasion. The two robed men allegedly fought on the issue of entitlement over the gifts.

Confirming the incident, DM Abhishek Singh, who is the ex officio chairman of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), said the culprits have been identified and a criminal case was registered against them. Their credentials as properly ordained monks were being verified and the International Buddhist Council has sought the CCTV footage of the incident to take disciplinary action in the matter.

According to the FIR lodged by the main priest Bhikshu Chalinda, 40-50 uninvited people in monk robes were sitting in a group and started creating noises. “I was informed that two locals in the monk robes were fighting. The locals (known as Thakurs) in the guise of monks enter the temple premises many a time and today they quarrelled and tried to bring disrepute to the premises,” he alleged in the FIR.

The DM also did not rule out the possibility of the fighting duo being impersonators. If the two are found to be properly ordained monks, the Buddhist Council will ensure their expulsion from the tribe of monks, he said.

It is not the first case of its kind. Several years back, Gyan Jagat, the then chief priest of the shrine, had mysteriously disappeared overnight leaving behind his belongings following the revelation that he was impersonating as a Buddhist monk and, in fact, belonged to a non-Buddhist belief system.

Again, Bhadant Bodhipal, the then chief priest of the shrine, was charged with illegal felling of the sacred tree branches and its subsequent smuggling. A criminal case was subsequently instituted against him.