The Buddha Dhatu Jadi is a Buddhist temple that is also known as the Golden Temple of Bandarban. It is located close to Balaghata town, in Bandarban city in Bangladesh . Skandha or Dhatu means material remains of a holy person. In this temple, the relics belong to Buddha . It is the largest Theravada Buddhist Temple with the second largest Buddha statue in Bangladesh.
The Bandarban Golden Temple belongs to the Theravada Buddhism order, which is practised by the Chittagong indigenous people, a dominant ethnic group of Bandarban. It was built in 2000 in Arakanese literature adoption of South East Asia style.
In Pulpara people of the Marma tribal community are sincere devotees and followers of Theravada Buddhism and visit this golden temple to worship the great Gautama the Buddha.
The town where this beautiful and transcendental golden temple is situated has other two hills, Tajingdong and Keokradong. The area is covered with dense forest, and the view from the Golden Temple of the surrounding horizon consisting of trees and mountains is a fantastic sight to see as well as experience. In the Buddha Dhatu Jadi Golden Temple there exists the second most significant statue of Gautama
The first thing that will amaze the tourists visiting Buddha Dhatu Jadi is the elegant stairways that lead up to the temple. The temple is built on the top of the hill and is ornamented with exquisite and delicate images, both painted and sculptural. There is a golden bell that is set on a dragon. This is situated within the temple precinct. Construction of the temple started in 1995 and ended in 2000. The founder of the temple is Ven. U Pannya Jota Mahathero.
The Golden Temple is not only a tourists’ spot; it is much more than a place. Visiting the place one will get access to the beauty of different quality with the Golden Temple, the lush abundance of green surrounding the area, hills and clouds throughout the horizon. All these will make a tourist directly see the gorgeousness and splendour that exists in nature.
As with almost all the tourist spot of Bandarban ,to visit the places one must first reach the Bandarban town. However, the distance of the Golden Temple from Bandarban town is less, only 5 kilometres. Tourists can go to Bandarban directly from Dhaka by bus service. There are various bus services such as Saudia Paribahan, S Alam Parobhan, Unique Service etc. and the bus fare is near around the price range of 550 taka to 800 taka. After reaching to Bandarban town, tourists will find many jeeps and “Chander Gari” available and ready to go to various points of Bandarban.
Tourists can hire a vehicle and visit the Golden Temple. As for food and living accommodation, tourists will easily find them in Bandarban town. Near around the area of the Golden Temple, there are small food shops available where food items such as chips, biscuits etc. can be found. It is better to visit the Golden Temple for a significant amount of time and then return to Bandarban town for eating and resting for the night.
Cost of travelling to Bandarban’s Golden Temple
There will be no additional cost when visiting Bandarban’s Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is open for all tourists, and for tourists apart from the bus tickets costing 550 to 800 taka the cost of hiring a “Chander Gari” is within the range of 1000 to 2000 taka for a single trip, and 4000 to 5000 taka to recruit for the whole day. There are also public bus services where the fare is below 100 taka.
Visiting Buddha Dhatu Jadi is almost like visiting a part of the natural love Buddhism has for humankind and all nature. Recently the temple organisation is facing troubles from the local people for closing the temple for tourists. The reason behind this is that the past tourists entered the temple wearing shoes, and took inappropriate pictures with the statue of Gautama the Buddha.
All tourists must be responsible and keep in mind when visiting the Bandarban’s Golden Temple that it is a holy place for the Buddhist. Tourists with a keen eye for nature will understand the quality of holiness of the place just by looking at it after reaching the Golden Temple.
Written by Usha Barua
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