Here is your short paragraph on Gaya:

According to Grierson, Gaya was originally a Hindu shrine with a sacred tree which granted offspring, then it became Buddhist and again Hindu between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D. Gaya is the name of a town and also of the district (of Bihar State) in which it is situated.

It is one of the seven sacred Hindu centres and hence an important place of pilgrimage, notable also as the spot where the asura Gaya (Gayasura) offered himself as a sacrifice ‘for the good of all mankind’.

It is the place where the sacred ‘Aksayavata’ tree grows to which offerings are made.

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As these offerings directly benefit the pitris, Gaya is called “Pitritirtha” (sacred place of the Pitris). One of the villages near Gaya is called ‘Bodh Gaya’, traditionally regarded as a place where Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Asvattha tree (Ficus religiosa).

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