The ancient name of the place where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment was Uruvela.
Uruvela was an ancient settlement near the Niranjana River in present-day Bihar, India. Buddhist tradition says Siddhartha practiced austerities in the region before abandoning extreme asceticism and accepting food from Sujata. He then sat beneath the Bodhi Tree and attained awakening.
The area later became known as Bodh Gaya, one of Buddhism’s most important pilgrimage centers. The Mahabodhi Temple now marks the traditional site of enlightenment. Uruvela is therefore the ancient place-name, while Bodh Gaya is the modern pilgrimage town associated with it.
This name can be confused with Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon, or Kushinagar, where he traditionally entered parinirvana. Those locations represent different major episodes in his life.