The sacred fig tree grown from a cutting of the Buddha's own Bodhi tree, said to be the oldest historically documented tree in the world.

Overview

The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred fig at the heart of Anuradhapura's Sacred City, propagated from a branch of the very tree at Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Wreathed in prayer flags and golden railings and tended by generations of guardians, it is one of Buddhism's most revered living relics. Pilgrims in white gather here throughout the day to make offerings.

History

The sapling was brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE by the nun Sangamitta, daughter of Emperor Ashoka, and planted by King Devanampiya Tissa, giving it a continuous documented history of more than 2,300 years. It has been protected and venerated ever since, making it the oldest living human-planted tree with a known planting date.