The land for our Delhi Center (Buddhist Temple) was offered by the British Viceroy of India, handed over to the Maha Bodhi Society and the cost of the construction was entirely donated by the generosity of Raja Seth Jugal Kishore Birla. The foundation stone was laid by K. Yonewaza, the Japanese Consul General in India in 1931 and this Buddhist Temple (Delhi Center) of Maha Bodhi Society of India was reverentially opened by Mahatma GANDHI in 1939 before Independence of India. He declared “all castes are equal and I call on all people to practice love and tolerance”.

This Center is located on Mandir Marg (Road) of the Capital city of India. It is very close to New Delhi’s famed Lakhmi Narayan Temple, which is well-known as Birla Mandir.

Since then, the Buddha Vihara has been continuously functioning as the most venerable center for Buddhism in the Capital of India. Thousands of devotees irrespective of faith and identification pay frequent visits to the Vihara to pay homage to the Buddha and His compassionate message of peace and nonviolence.

The auspicious Days of Buddha Dharma are celebrated with great enthusiasm and devotion. In these religious ceremonies, almost all of the former Prime Ministers, President, great leaders of India such as Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Pandit Nehru, Dr. S. Radhakrishnen, Morarji Desai and the architect of the Constitution of India – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Dudley Senanayaka, Mr. & Mrs. S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake, J.R. Jayawardane (Sri Lanka) and many other Prime Ministers, Presidents, High Commissioners and Ambassadors of foreign countries including Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Burma, etc. took part on various occasions.

The Buddha Vihara house is a beautiful gold polished Buddha murti, another exquisite Buddha murti of Burmese origin within a highly decorated frame with beautiful picture of Buddha gifted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru – the first Prime Minister of India.