| Sarnath - Varanasi |
| Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh. Mrigadava, Migadāya, Rishipattana, Isipatana are the other names of the holy place Sarnath is the deer park. Sarnath is the place where Gautama Buddha first taught the lessons of Dharma. Mrigadava means "deer-park". |
|
Sarnath, from Saranganath, means "Lord of the Deer" from another old Buddhist story in which a deer named Bodhisattva scarified his life to a king for saving the doe that was planned to kill by king himself latter. The king creates the park as a sanctuary for deer as he was heart touched by the scarifies of Bodhisattva. One of the main landmarks in Sarnath is the deer park attracting people form around places.
The Buddha after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya went to Sarnath. Sarnath was the place where he preached his first discourse in the deer park to set in motion the 'Wheel of the Dharma'. It is one of the most holy sites as in this place the stream of the Buddha's teaching first flowed. The main reason for Buddha to reach Sarnath was to find his five former companions who were capable of understanding the lessons of Dharma quickly.
|
 |
|
| And result of Buddha’s preaching the other five companions were enlightened by Dharma, this lessons of Dharma spread over very fast in the area of Sarnath. In no time there were number of followers of the Buddha. He selected 60 members named them Sangha, sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma. All 60 monks were Arahants. |
|
 |
|
| Dhamek Stupa is a massive stupa built in 500 AD lies inside the Deer park in Sarnath.s. This structure was constructed to replace an earlier structure commissioned by the great Mauryan king Ashoka in 249 B.C.E. Encircled by large stones stupas originated as circular mounds. To enshrine small pieces of bone and other relics of Buddha and his disciples King Ashoka built stupas. Near the site of Dhamek Stupa an Ashoka pillar stands with an announcement made by King Ashoka commanding legal powers engraved on it. |
|
| To mark the spot of a deer park where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, "revealing his Eightfold Path leading to nirvana" the Dhamek Stupa is built. A height of 43.6 meters and diameter of 28 meters, in its current shape, the stupa is a solid cylinder of bricks and stone and the most massive structure in Sarnath. The lower portion of the stupa is covered with stones that are chiseled with exquisite floral carvings of the Gupta period. The borders of the stupa bear delicately carved figures of humans and birds. Numerous excavation works have been carried out in and around this structure that was first started by Colonel Cunningham of Royal British Army in early 20th century. |
|
| The emperor Ashoka to enshrine the Buddha's relics built the Dharmarajika stupa. The Dharmarajika stupa is situated at a furlong from Dhamek stupa in Sarnath. The original stupa standing high on a circular base was enlarged during the Gupta's period. The stupa again reconstructed in the British era as the monument was destroyed by repeated foreign invasion. |
|
| Dating back to the fifth century Chaukhandi Stupa is one of the important Buddhist Stupas at Sarnath. Later the monument was enhanced by the addition of an octagonal tower of Islamic origin. Surrounded by an octagonal tower the Chaukhandi Stupa is a lofty mound of brick. During the Gupta period from 4th to 6th Century the Chaukhandi Stupa is said to be originally a terraced temple. The present shape to the Chaukhandi Stupa was given by Govardhan, the son of Raja Todarmal. To commemorate the visit of Humayun, the great Mughal ruler he built an octagonal tower. Chaukhandi Stupa is the land mark where Lord Buddha met his first disciples as he traveled from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath. The Chaukhandi stupa is well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India stands uniquely in lush green lawns. The Chaukhandi Stupa forms a gateway to the Buddhist city of Sarnath standing in the calmness and mystery of history. |
|
| The modern Buddhist temple or the recent 'Mulagandhakuti Vihara' is 110 feet high with an image of Buddha inside it. Buddhist relics discovered at Taxila are enshrined in this 'Mulagandhkuti Vihara'. On the walls of this temple there are fine paintings by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu. Buddhist services are conducted there. Chinese, Burmese and Jain temples are also present nearby the Mulagandhakuti Vihara temple. |
|
| Originally, there must have been many pillars of Ashoka although only ten with inscriptions still survive. One of the famous and most visited tourist spot in Sarnath is the great Ashoka Pillar. Ashoka built the Sarnath pillar to commemorate the site of the first preaching of Lord Buddha, where he taught the Dharma to five monks. Even though the pillar is still in its original location, the Ashoka Lion Capital has been shifted to the Sarnath Museum for better preservation. The Lion Capital of Ashoka comprises four lions, standing back to back, mounted on a cylindrical abacus. The pillar also records the visit of Ashoka to Sarnath. It is interesting to note that at one time, the Ashoka Pillar of Sarnath stood over 17 meters in height. A short cylindrical abacus assists it where four 24-spoked Dharma wheels with four animals (an elephant, a bull, a horse, a lion in this order), and four lions face the four cardinal directions. The four animals are believed to symbolize different steps of the Gautam Buddha's life. |
|
| A rich collection of sculptures, artifacts and edifices comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images, finest specimens of Buddhist art and other important remains and other ancient remains are housed in the museum of Sarnath. Most famous exhibit is the Lion Capital of Asoka of this museum. Beautiful sculptures of the Buddha from the fifth century are the things to see. Cross-legged, with eyes downcast in deep meditation and a halo around his head The Buddha sits in a unique way. An impressive and amazingly beautiful, life-size standing Bodhisattva and a delicate image of the Bodhisattva with a lotus and another bronze sculpture showing the Bodhisattva with multiple arms are some of the interests in the museum. The main attraction of the Sarnath Archaeological Museum is the superb Ashokan Pillar. It has four back-to-back lions, which has been adopted as the National symbol of India. Below this are representations of a lion, an elephant, horse and the bull. |
|
| For Buddhists, Sarnath (or Isipatana) is one of four pilgrimage sites designated by Gautama Buddha, the other three being Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Lumbini. |
|
| For both Buddhists from India and abroad Sarnath has been developed as a place of pilgrimage. Thailand, Japan, Tibet and Myanmar are some of the countries in which Buddhism is major religions have established temples and monasteries in Sarnath in the style that is typical for the respective country. |
 |