the Department of Archaeology Archives

The world’s oldest living tree – by Text & pix by Mahil Wijesinghe In 288 BC, King Asoka of India sent his daughter Sangamitta with a sapling of the Bo-tree to Sri Lanka Source:Sunday Observer The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred site for Buddhists the world over There is no spot in Anuradhapura more sacred than the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. Whenever I visit Anuradhapura, the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is number one on my list. Worshiping at the Bo tree has continued unbroken for 23 centuries. The introduction of the Sacred Bodhi Tree, the oldest historical tree in the world and the most venerated, is commemorated by Buddhists in Sri Lanka on Unduwap Poya (full moon) day. Unduwap Poya is popularly known as Sri Sangamitta Day, because it was the missionary nun Sangamitta who brought the sacred Bodhi to the country. It was brought as a sapling of the ...