The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to
the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of
Enlightenment. The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd
century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th
centuries. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in
brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period.