Gayā ［伽耶城］ (, Pali;  Gaya-jō): A city of the Magadha kingdom in ancient India, south of Pātaliputra (present-day Patna) on the Ganges River. Present-day Gaya is located in central Bihar, a state in northeastern India. Today it is a center of Hindu belief that attracts many pilgrims. There are numerous Hindu temples in the city, and the principal shrine is the Vishnu temple. Gayā was formerly a center of Buddhism, but from the second through the fourth century, Hinduism gradually displaced Buddhism. Near the city, however, are a number of sites associated with Shakyamuni Buddha, such as Buddhagayā (now Bodh Gaya, also called Buddh Gaya), where Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, and Mount Gayāshīrsha (the hill now called Brahmayoni or Brahmajini), where the Buddha is believed to have preached.