Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi

The oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a Sacred Fig tree in the Mahamewna Gardens, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is the right-wing branch of the Sri Maha Bodhi at Buddha Gaya in India. The sacred city of Anuradhapura has been nominated by UNESCO as a World Heritage. The main reason for the historical city of Anuradhapura to become a sacred city was the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.

The oldest tree in the whole world with a written history is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi of Anuradhapura. This tree belongs to the family of trees known as ‘asvastha’ in Sanskrit, ‘asvattha’ in Pali, ‘aesatu’ in Sinhala. Botanists have named it ‘ficus religiosa’ taking into account its religious significance.

History

About 2,600 years ago, Lord Gautama Buddha sat with his back against an Esathu tree on the banks of the Neranjana River in Bodhgaya, India. It was at this moment, as he sat against the tree, that the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment. In doing so, the tree also gained a venerated status. It became known as the Bodhi tree, and pilgrims came to see it even within the lifetime of the Buddha.

After bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda Thero in 250 BC, Later in 236 BC Emperor Asoka in India sent his daughter Sanghamitta Therani to the island with the southern branch of the Sacred Bodhi obtained from the main stem of the bodhi tree in Buddha Gaya under which Buddha attained enlightenment. King Tissa received the sapling and planted it at the present site in 249 BC. Taking this information into account today (in 2022) the Sri Maha Bodhi tree is exactly 2272 years old. Thus this tree is considered the oldest living tree in the world in recorded history.