What became of the original bhodi tree that Buddha became enlightened under?

Zbeckabee

The Bodhi Tree that exists today is not the exact one that shaded the Buddha's meditation 2,500 years ago, but it may well be a direct descendent. In the 3rd century BC, Emperor Asoka's daughter Sanghamitta brought a branch of the Bodhi Tree to Sri Lanka and planted it in Anuradhapura, where it still grows today. According to one tradition, Asoka's wife destroyed the original Bodhi Tree out of jealousy over the time the emperor spent there. Other accounts have the tree destroyed in the 7th century. But most reports agree that the original tree was destroyed and replanted using a shoot from the Sri Lanka tree. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/india/bodhgaya-bodhi-tree Mar 05 10, 10:59 PM

star_gazer

The earliest records on the tree are in the ‘Kalingabodhi Jataka’, which gives a vivid description of the tree and the surrounding area prior to the enlightenment, and the ‘Asokavadana’, which relates the story of King Asoka’s conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent worship under the sacred tree apparently angered his queen to the point where she ordered the tree to be felled. Ashoka then piled up earth around the stump and poured milk on its roots. The tree miraculously revived and grew to a height of 37 metres. He then surrounded the tree with a stone-wall some three meters high for its protection. Ashoka’s daughter Sangamitta, a Buddhist nun, took a shoot of the tree to Sri Lanka where the King, Devanampiyatissa, planted it at the Mahavihara monastery in Anuradhapura. It still flourishes today and is the oldest continually documented tree in the world. In 600AD, King Sesanka, a zealous Shivaite, again destroyed the tree. The event was recorded by Hiuen T’sang, along with the planting of a new Bodhi tree sapling by King Purnavarma in 620AD. At this time, during the annual celebration of Vaisakha, thousands of people from all over India would gather to anoint the roots of the holy tree with perfumed water and scented milk, and to offer flowers and music. http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/the_bodhi_tree/ Mar 06 10, 12:07 AM