Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya

Diamond Throne Vajrasana
The Diamond Throne in Bodh Gaya.
Material	Polished sandstone
Period/culture	circa 250 BCE
Discovered	24°41′45″N 84°59′28″E / 24.695939°N 84.991211°E / 24.695939; 84.991211
Place	Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India
Present location	Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India
Diamond Throne

The Vajrasana (IAST: vajrāsana; diamond throne), or Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha, is an ancient stone slab located under the Bodhi tree, directly beside the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. The slab is thought to have been placed at Bodhgayā by Emperor Ashoka The Great of the Maurya Empire between 250-233 BCE,^[1] at the spot where the Buddha meditated.^[2]

The vajrasana is the bodhimanda (bodhimaṇḍa; seat or platform of enlightenment) of Gautama Buddha.^[3] Being the site where Gautama Buddha achieved liberation, Tibetan texts also use the term vajrasana to refer to Bodh Gaya itself.^[4]

The empty throne was a focus of devotion in early Buddhism, treated as a cetiya or symbolic relic. It was not intended to be occupied, but operated as a symbol of the missing Buddha. Ancient images show devotees kneeling in prayer before it, as they still do.