Abstract
The main goal of this essay is to explore the construction of sacred place in the multi-religious context based on a field study at Bodhagaya, India. Bodhagaya is generally regarded as the most significant sacred place for Buddhist believers mainly because it is the place the Buddha reached his enlightenment. This widely known site recognized for its Buddhist significance attracts a large number of pilgrims, tourists from different parts of the world to the religious-historical site currently called Mahabodhi Maha Vihar. But this popular conception of the site is established on a rather serious sociological neglect of the fact that the sacred place of Bodhagaya is a place located in a social environment composed of multiple religions. This essay will examine the actual construction of the sacred place in Bodhagaya from a sociological concern whether the sacred place of Bodhagaya is constructed solely from Buddhist conception of the site or it is the result of superimposed interaction, interpenetration or conflict between plural religious interests.
