Bodhi tree in the context of "Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi"

Anuradhapura (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුරය, romanised: Anurādhapuraya, IPA: [ənuraːd̪əpurəjə]; Tamil: அனுராதபுரம், romanised: Aṉurātapuram, IPA: [ɐnuɾaːðɐβuɾɐm]) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies 205 kilometers (127 mi) north of the current capital of Colombo in the North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malwathu Oya. The city is now a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhalese civilisation.

While Mahāvaṃsa places the founding of the city in 437 BCE, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. It is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilisation, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. Moreover, it was the first capital of the Sinhala Kingdom of Rajarata, following the kingdoms of Tambapanni and Upatissa Nuwara. Anuradhapura was also the centre of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries and has been a major Buddhist pilgrimage site with ruins of many ancient Buddhist temples, including the famous Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest still-living, documented, planted tree in the world believed to have originated from the original Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India) under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. These vast networks of ancient temples and monasteries now cover over 100 square kilometers (40 sq mi) of area of the city today.

The Bodhi-Vamsa, or Mahabodhivamsa, is a prose poem in elaborate Sanskritized Pali that recounts the story of the Bodhi tree of Bodh Gaya and Anuradhapura. It is attributed to a monk called Upatissa who lived during the reign of Mahinda IV of Sri Lanka, and believed to have been composed in the 10th Century AD. It is written in the kavya style.

The position and treatment of animals in Buddhism is important for the light it sheds on Buddhists' perception of their own relation to the natural world, on Buddhist humanitarian concerns in general, and on the relationship between Buddhist theory and Buddhist practice.

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. It is considered as the bodhimanda (bodhimaṇḍa; seat or platform of enlightenment) of Gautama Buddha. The slab is presumed to have been placed at the location during the reign of Maurya king Ashoka between 250–233 BCE, at the spot where the Buddha meditated.

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. Devotees often kneel in prayer before it. Being the site where Gautama Buddha achieved liberation, Tibetan Buddhist texts also use the term vajrasana to refer to Bodh Gaya itself.