The Maha Bodhi Temple: King Ashoka visited Bodhgaya about 250 years after the Enlightenment took place and it is considered as he constructed the Maha Bodhi Temple. It is said that Ashoka with establishing a monastery erected a diamond throne shrine at this spot with a canopy supported by four pillars over a stone representation of the Vajrasana, the seat of enlightenment, for which the temple of Maha Bodhi is famous. The basement of the present temple is 15m square, 15m in length as well as in breadth and its height is 52m, which rises in the form of a slender pyramid and tapering off from a square platform. On upper side of the four corners four towers are gracefully constructed to some height. In this way the whole architectural set-up gives a proper pose and balance, when it is observed. The colossal image of the Buddha is placed inside the temple in the "touching the ground pose", Bhumisparsha mudra. This image can be of 1700 years old. The image is presented facing at the east, exactly at the place where the Buddha at the time of meditation were seated having the Bodhi Tree at the back.

The Bodhi Tree: At the backside of the main temple, towards the west, there is an ancient peepal tree Ficus religiosa or Bodhi tree. Sitting under this tree only the Gautama reached to the enlightenment stage. Not less than but for seven days after the phase of Enlightenment, the Buddha continued his meditation sitting under the Bodhi tree without moving from his seat. After this, during the second week he had practiced walking meditation. A jewel walk, Chankramanar, was built as a low platform adorned with nineteen lotuses, which are parallel to the Maha Bodhi temple on its north side. For another week the Buddha contemplated the Bodhi tree. In this place a stupa was built called Animeschalochana situated to the north of the Chankramanar.