To commemorate 2,600 years of Buddha Jayanthi, Sri Lanka will present India a sapling of the Maha Bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha believed to have attained enlightenment.
The tree will be planted in the new Buddha Udyanaya being created in Patna, to commemorate 2,600 years of the Sambuddha Jayanthi.
An Indian government backed 10-members delegation has arrived in the Buddhist city of Anuradhapura in North Central Sri Lanka for the purpose.
The Indian delegation is expected to brief the Sri Lankan Government about the Sambuddha Jayanthi celebrations to be held in India for a whole year, the state run Daily News reported.
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred fig tree in
Anuradhapura Sri Lanka and is said to be a sapling of the historical Bodhi tree.
Planted in 288 BC, it is reportedly the oldest
living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date, says a study.
The tree is one of the most sacred relics of the
Buddhists in Sri Lanka and respected by Buddhists all over the world.
The tree is said to be the southern branch of the Sri Maha Bodhi at Bodh Gaya in India.
In the 3rd century BC, the Buddha's fig tree was
brought to Sri Lanka by the Thera Sanghamitra, daughter of Emperor Ashoka and founder of an order of Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka.
In 249 BC, Siri Maha Bodhi was planted in the
Mahameghavana Park in Anuradhapura by King Devanampiyatissa, the study said.