[6][7] According to Vayu Purana, Gaya was the name of a demon (Asura) whose body became pious after he performed strict penance and secured blessings from Lord Vishnu.

The fame of ancient Gaya derived from the account in the Ramayana of the god Rama coming here to the banks of Phalgu River (called the Niranjana), accompanied by his wife and younger brother, to offer pind-daan for their father Dasharatha, for the moksha of his soul.

Gaya flourished during the Maurya Empire (321–187 BCE), which ruled from the city of Pataliputra (adjacent to modern Patna) over an area that extended beyond the Indian subcontinent.

The city's cultural significance began with the dynasty founded by Sisunaga, who exercised power over Patna and Gaya around 600 BCE.

Bimbisara, fifth king of the dynasty, who lived and ruled around 519 BCE, had projected Gaya to the outer world.

Having attained an important place in the history of civilization, the area experienced the influence of Gautama Buddha and Bhagwan Mahavir during the reign of Bimbisara.

After a brief period under the Nanda dynasty (345–321 BCE), Gaya and the entire Magadha region came under Mauryan rule.

Samudragupta of Magadha brought Gaya into the limelight, making it the capital of Bihar district during the Gupta empire.

It is believed that the present temple of Bodh Gaya was built during the reign of Gopala's son, Dharmapala.

Now 2023 Upgrade Gaya Junction to International Junction official news launched By @PIB_Patna on Twitter [14] Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, founder of the All India Kisan Sabha peasant movement in 1936, established an ashram at Neyamatpur, Gaya, which later became the centre of the freedom struggle in Bihar.

From 26 to 31 December 1922, the 37th session of the Indian National Congress was held in Gaya[15] under the presidency of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das.

Ishwar Chaudhary, a member of the Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Lok Sabhas from 1971 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1991, represented the Gaya constituency of Bihar.

[19] GMC consists of democratically elected members, is headed by a mayor, who administer the city's infrastructure, public services, and supplies.

[20] The city of Gaya is a holy place of Hinduism, with a great number of Hindu deities represented in the engravings, paintings and carvings of its shrines.

But, if Śrāddha of that person are performed at Gaya then the soul of such a man will get rid of the tortures of the hell and will go to heaven.

Performing Śrāddha here is of great importance as it helps one to get rid of pitra rinna i.e. debts towards one's ancestors (male forefathers).

[13] Marking this seminal moment, Bodh Gaya is one of the four holiest pilgrimage sites of Buddhism, with Lumbini, Sarnath and Kushinagar.

Ongoing maintenance and management is required to protect the complex which, as a major pilgrimage site, is under pressure due to large numbers of visitors.

Gaya has a large number of household industries, producing incense sticks (atagarbatti), local sweets tilkut (made with sesame seed) and lai (made with poppy seed), stone-work, hand weaving, power-loom weaving, textiles and garments, small-scale manufactured goods, and plastic products.

Gaya has a road network providing good connectivity with the state of Bihar and other parts of the country.

[36] Regular direct bus services run from Gaya to Patna, Aurangabad, Bhagalpur, Munger, Nalanda, Rajgir, Varanasi, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Kolkata, Lucknow and Dhanbad.

In 2011, A/C Mercedes-Benz luxury services were introduced by Bihar State Road Transport Corporation for Muzaffarpur, Patna, Munger, Bhagalpur, Motihari, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Ranchi and Ramgarh.

The Grand Trunk Road from Kolkata to Delhi passes from "Dobhi & Barachatti"some 30 km (19 mi) from Gaya.

[42] Gaya Airport also serves as the only place of Bihar from where Hajj pilgrims take direct flight to Jeddah and Madina in Saudi Arabia.