The Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Temple in Boddh gaya is called the Sri MahaBodhi and ofcourse it is special for people all over the world as Siddhart Gautam attained enlightenment under it and because the Gautam Buddha.

But is that MahaBodhi tree still alive? answer is 'NO', and the existing one is descendant of original MahaBodhi tree.

Let's peek into somemore details,

Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment under MahaBodhi tree in 528 BCE, it is said that during the second week, kept looking at Bodhi Tree, in thanks and gratitude to the tree that had sheltered him during his struggle.Some Part of original bodhi tree was sent to Sri Lanka by Ashoka which was planted in 288 BCE, making it the oldest verified specimen of any plant and is called as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. Several attempts were made to demolish the tree.

First attempt:
In 254 BCE, Tissarakkha, Ashoka’s queen, destroyed the original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, as she did not favour Ashoka embracing Buddhism and a second tree grew from the roots of the first. It was eventually destroyed several times due to storms and invaders. Each time it was destroyed, a new tree was planted in its place.

Second attempt:
For the second time, King Shashanka of Bengal decided to uproot the Bodhi tree in 560 BC. But he failed. It is said that when its roots did not come out, King Shashanka cut down the Bodhi tree and set fire to its roots. But the roots were not completely destroyed.

Third attempt:
The third time the Bodhi tree was destroyed in the year 1876 due to a natural disaster. At that time Lord Alexander Cunningham ordered a branch of Bodhi tree from Anuradhapuram, Sri Lanka in 1880 and re-established it in Bodh Gaya. This is the fourth Bodhi tree of this generation, which still exists today.

While the original Mahabodhi tree died many years ago, the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree is still alive in Shri Lanka, which makes it an oldest living plant(more than 2,250 years old). The Mahabodhi Tree now growing at the Bodh Gaya is less than 120 years old. It has been propagated from the Sri Mahabodhi Tree. A sapling from that tree was brought back to the Mahabodhi Temple, where it is now growing. It is located at the same place where the original tree once stood.

Around the year 2000, the Mahabodhi Tree was attacked by a millibug – an insect which slowly kills trees.An alarm was raised by the Mahabodhi Temple Management Committee when the
leaves started turning black in 2002. Following reports in the media in Japan, organisations from the country came forward to help.Scientists soon discovered that the carbon monoxide (CO) emitted from the oil lamps lit near the tree had formed a thin layer of it on leaves, making photosynthesis difficult. A study and laboratory tests warned that the tree would die if steps to protect it were not taken immediately.Experts treated the tree for three years using various measures. To begin with, the burning of oil lamps near the tree was banned and a lamp house constructed. The water level in the roots was maintained and pesticides were used.Since then the Mahabodhi Mahavihara’s management committee has also banned burning of candles or lamps around the Muccalinda Lake as an anti-pollution drive. According to the ancient story, from this lake the legendary serpent King Muccalinda rose up to cover Lord Buddha with its hood, to save him from the violent storm raised by the Mara.At last in 2005, after several years of sickness, the tree bore new leaves. The bark has also regained its original colour, which indicates good health. So the third generation Mahabodhi Tree was successfully rehabilitated through love and right understanding.

Spread for Cultivation (sampling)

In 1913, Anagarika Dharmapala took a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi to Hawaii, where he presented it to his benefactor, Mary Foster, who had funded much Buddhist missionary work. She planted it in the grounds of her house in Honolulu, by the Nu?uanu stream. On her death, she left her house and its grounds to the people of Honolulu, and it became the Foster Botanical Garden.

In 1950, Jinarajadasa took three saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhi to plant two saplings in Chennai, one was planted near the Buddha temple at the Theosophical Society another at the riverside of Adyar Estuary. The third was planted near a meditation center in Sri Lanka.

In 1968, Three branches of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) were brought to Nagpur Deekshabhoomi by Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan, Bhadant Dr. Hampolo Ratansara and Bhadant Aanandmangal. The saplings were taken from the same Bodhi Tree planted by Sanghamitra.Each Bhante planted those three saplings at the same place.The present Bodhi Tree at deekshabhoomi today is an intact combination of these three sapling now appearing as one.

In 2012, Brahmanda Pratap Barua, Ripon, Dhaka, Bangladesh, took a sapling of Bodhi tree from Buddha Gaya, Maha Bodhi to Thousand Oaks, California, where he presented it to his benefactor.