Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, accompanied by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, paid homage to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura this morning (06), receiving blessings at the revered site. Following the visit, Prime Minister Modi proceeded to the Udamaluwa, where he engaged in a cordial discussion with the Chief Incumbent of the Great Eight Buddhist Shrines (Atamasthanadhipathi) and Chief Sanghanayake of Nuwarakalaviya, Most Venerable Dr. Pallegama Hemarathana Nayaka Thera. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi shared that relics of the Buddha were discovered in excavations in his home state of Gujarat during the 1960s. He expressed his intention to discuss with President Dissanayake the possibility of exhibiting these sacred relics in Sri Lanka. Responding to a request from the Atamasthanadhipathi to develop Bodh Gaya as a spiritual city, Prime Minister Modi assured that he would take the necessary steps after discussions with President Dissanayake to make this vision a reality. The Maha Sangha, led by the Atamasthanadhipathi, chanted Seth Pirith and invoked blessings on the Indian Prime Minister. Prime Minister Modi also left a commemorative note in the special guest book at the site and formally inaugurated the newly constructed ‘Makara Thorana’ within the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi premises.
