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Anuradhapura, North Central · 8.3447°, 80.3967°
A sacred fig grown from a cutting of the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, planted in the royal park at Anuradhapura in 288 BCE by King Devanampiya Tissa and protected by later rulers including Vasabha, Sena II and Kirti Sri Rajasinha. Raised on a terrace some 6.5 metres above ground and ringed by walls and companion trees, it draws millions of pilgrims a year.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Sri Lankan tradition holds that the southern branch of the original Bodhi tree was carried to the island by the Buddhist nun Sanghamitta, daughter of the emperor Ashoka.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Anuradhapura (Devanampiya Tissa)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…