CNN-IBN

Gaya, Jul 20: The Buddhist heritage city of Bodh Gaya plunged into a crisis on Thursday after the famous Mahabodhi tree was found damaged.

The Mahabodhi tree behind the Mahabodhi temple, which grew from an original banyan tree, is considered a sacred tree for the Buddhists as it is under this tree that the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment some 2,500 years ago. It's the sixth regeneration of the original tree.

The Bodhi tree is a large and very old specimen of the Sacred Fig, located at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, about 100 km from Patna.

The Bodhi Tree belongs to the Sacred Figs (Ficus religiosa), also known as Bo, Pipul (Peepal) or Ashwattha trees. According to Buddhist belief, Siddharta Gautama meditated under this tree, mentioned as Ashwattha in the Tipitaka, when he achieved Nirvana.

The Sacred Fig in the Mahabodhi Temple is not the original specimen, but probably a direct clone descendant of it. This tree is a frequent destination for pilgrims, being the most important of the four holy sites for Buddhists.

On Thursday, the temple authorities discovered that someone had cut a branch of the tree. The branch is missing.

The incident is likely to have international repercussions as Buddhists from all over the world travel to Bodh Gaya to worship this tree.

The tree was attacked by milibug disease five years ago and its leaves started turning black. The burning of oil lamps near the tree was banned after that incident.