۞ Tree Of Knowledge
The Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya has been the subject of countless legends. Central to the mystique and holiness of this particular pipal tree is the belief that it is a direct descendent of the one under which the Buddha meditated more than 2500 years ago. Some believe that Emperor Ashoka cut down the original tree before his

famous conversion to Buddhism. The tree miracu­lously sprang back to life, only to be hacked down again by Ashoka's wife, jealous of the attention and respect her husband had started to pay the tree since its remarkable recovery.

However, the tree once again sprang up from its roots. Unnerved and impressed by its hardiness, Ashoka and his wife sent a sapling from the original tree to Sri Lanka, where it is believed to still prosper today. The centuries to come witnessed a series of attacks on the tree at Bodh Gaya, which weakened it to such an extent that it finally fell to a storm in 1876. The revered incarnation of the original tree that stands today grew from a seedling taken from the original tree's offspring in Sri Lanka.