Buddhist devotees participate in 20th anniversary celebrations of Buddha statue in Gaya

The foundation stone for Lord Buddha statue was placed in 1986. On November 18, 1989, the statue was inaugurated in Bodh Gaya, a city in Bihar’s Gaya District by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The statue was inspired by a Buddha statue in Japan.

"There is huge statute of Lord Buddha in Japan and this statue was inspired by that statue," said Bhante Bodhipal, Chief Priests of Mahabodhi temple.

Hundreds of Buddhist devotees arrived here after visiting various Buddhist religious pilgrimage centres like Sarnath, Lumbini, Kushinagar, Rajgraha, Vaishali and Nalanda to attend the celebrations.

A holy flame was also lit on the occasion with the help of sunlight and also with the flames brought from seven various Buddhist pilgrim centres across the world.

Bihar Governor R S Gavai also attended the function on Wednesday. (ANI)