Muchalinda Sarovar
Sacred pool · the Buddha sheltered by the naga king Muchalinda · Bodh Gaya, Gaya, Bihar
It marks the sixth week of the Buddha's post-enlightenment retreat
A sacred tank with a statue at its centre showing the Buddha in meditation under the spread hood of the serpent king Muchalinda, who is said to have sheltered him from a storm during the sixth week after enlightenment. Visitors feed the fish with puffed rice and monks sit here to meditate.
Plan your visit
- Best season
- September to April
- Area
- Bodh Gaya
- Status
- Coming Soon
Yatras that include Muchalinda Sarovar
- Buddhist Yatra: The lake he sheltered beside in the weeks after, a few minutes' walk from the tree.
Experiences here
- Dawn under the Bodhi tree: The courtyard opens at five, and for an hour it is almost empty
Tirtham can arrange here
Guide, car and stay around Bodh Gaya
Also around Bodh Gaya
- Litti chokha: The dish people mean when they say Bihari food.
- Sattu sharbat in summer: What Bihar drinks against the heat: roasted gram, water, lemon and salt, sold from carts on every corner.
- Tilkut on Ramna Road: Gaya's winter sweet, pounded from sesame and jaggery by hand for about 150 years, and eaten at Makar Sankranti.
- Anarsa of Gaya: The rice-and-sesame sweet Bihar Tourism places at Gaya.
- Magahi paan: The betel leaf of old Magadh, soft enough to melt in the mouth, grown under thatch in Nawada, Gaya, Aurangabad and Nalanda.
- The winter Tibetan market: Every winter, when the monasteries fill, Tibetan families set up a market beside the Mahabodhi temple.
Nearby places
- Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya: Where the Buddha attained enlightenment
- Great Buddha Statue: It is the landmark image of modern Bodh Gaya, the first great Buddha built in India, consecrated by the...
- Sujata Stupa: It marks the house of Sujata, who offered the Buddha milk-rice under a banyan and ended his years of...
- Sujata Kuti: Pilgrims walking the Sujata route from Bodh Gaya stop here alongside the stupa
- Dungeshwari Cave Temple: This is where Siddhartha Gautama is believed to have practised severe austerities for six years before...
- Jagannath Temple, Bodh Gaya: Hindus in Bodh Gaya come for darshan and for the daily Mahaprasad
- Maya Sarovar: It is a devotional and family stop associated with Maya Devi, more a park and evening show than a shrine
- Wat Thai Buddhagaya: Thai and other Theravada pilgrims come for the main Buddha image and for meditation sessions
Questions pilgrims ask
Why is Muchalinda Sarovar important?
A sacred tank with a statue at its centre showing the Buddha in meditation under the spread hood of the serpent king Muchalinda, who is said to have sheltered him from a storm during the sixth week after enlightenment. Visitors feed the fish with puffed rice and monks sit here to meditate.
When is the best time to visit Muchalinda Sarovar?
September to April.
Plan my Yatra. Rather talk to someone? Call or WhatsApp +91 87893 56605, or contact us.