Nairañjana

Nairañjanā is the river (present-day Lilaja River) that flows northward towards the Ganges, passing near Bodhgaya in the state of Bihar, India. After leaving the royal palace, Shakyamuni practised austerities for six years on the shore of this river in the forest near the village Uruvela. Eventually he became aware that this way of practising would never lead to enlightenment. He bathed in the Nairañjana River, and then, accepting milk curds offered by a girl named Sujata, recovered his strength. He went then to sit under a nearby pippala tree until reaching enlightenment. Thus the tree later became known as the bodhi tree, and the site Bodhgaya.