Sarnath

Overview

Sarnath, 10 km north of Varanasi, is a pilgrimage site for Buddhists and has also become popular with day-trippers from Varanasi, who picnic among the local ruins and parkland. Here, in a quiet grove, in the 6th century. BC e. Siddhartha Gautama, who became famous under the name of Buddha, the “Awakened One,” preached his first sermon and launched the Wheel of the Law - the Dharmachakra. During the rainy season, when the Buddha and his followers took a break from their travels, they went to Sarnath. It is also known as Rishipatana - the place of the sages, rishis, or Mrigadaya, Saranganatha, which means “Lord of the Deers”.

For centuries, Sarnath flourished as a center of Buddhist art and philosophy, especially Theravada Buddhism. In the 7th century A Chinese pilgrim reported that he saw thirty monasteries here, in which about 3000 monks lived, as well as a life-size copper statue of Buddha turning the Wheel of the Law.

Buddhism in India choked under the influence of the rise of Hinduism and Muslim conquests, except for the massive Dhamekh Stupa, much of the area lay in ruins for almost a millennium. A victim of vandalism and looting, Sarnath remained abandoned until 1834, when it was visited by Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham, head of the Archaeological Survey.

Main area and Dhamekh Stupa

The wonderful park (daily from 9.00 to 17.00; $5 [2 rupees]) hosts extensive archaeological excavations of the main Sarnath area, dominated by the huge Dhamekh Stupa. If you enter from the southwest, immediately to the north are the looted remains of the Dharmarajika Stupa ( Dharmarajika Stupa: At the center of the stupa was a green marble casket full of human bones and valuable objects, including crumbling pearls and gold plates. This stupa commemorates the place where Buddha delivered his first sermon; its construction is attributed to the reign of Ashoka in the 3rd century. BC e., but after that it expanded six times.

Adjacent to the Dharmarajika Stupa are the ruins of the Main Altar, where Ashoka is said to have meditated. To the west stands the lower part of the Ashoka Column, minus its famous capital, which is currently kept in the museum. On the territory of the complex there are also the ruins of four monasteries, dating from the 3rd to the 12th centuries, all of them built according to the same plan - with a central courtyard surrounded by monastic cells.

Most impressive of all is the Dhamekh Stupa, also known as the Dharma Chakra Stupa, which also claims to mark the exact site of the Buddha's first sermon. The stupa consists of a cylindrical tower rising 33,5 m from a stone drum, decorated with bas-reliefs depicting foliage and geometric patterns; in eight vaulted niches encircling it in the middle, there were probably once statues of Buddha. It dates from the Gupta period, but there is evidence of its earlier construction in the Mauryan era; some archaeologists suggest that the upper brickwork of the stupa may have originally been covered with a layer of plaster.

The Sri Digambar Jain Temple, or Shreyanshnath Temple, which can be visited by entering through another gate and thus avoiding the outrageous entrance fee, supposedly marks the birthplace of Shreyanshnath, the eleventh Tirthanakara. The temple was built in 1824 and contains a large image of a Jain saint, as well as interesting frescoes depicting the life of Mahavira, the founder of this religion and a contemporary of Buddha.

Museum

Opposite the gate leading to the main area is a museum (daily except Friday from 10.00 to 17.00; 2 rupees, video - 25 rupees), built in the form of a vihara (monastery), which houses a small but famous collection of Buddhist and Hindu monuments of antiquity, consisting mainly of examples of sculpture from Chunar sandstone.

The most famous exhibit is the lion-shaped capital, moved here from the Ashoka pillar on the main premises. Built by Ashoka (273 - 232 BC), the great ruler of the Maurya dynasty, who turned to the Teachings of the Buddha, it became part of the coat of arms of modern India: four alert and beautifully executed lions guard the four cardinal directions, located on top of a round platform. By the 1st and 2nd centuries. n. e. There are two impressive life-size statues of bodhisattvas, one of them holding a stone umbrella with beautiful ornaments and symbols of faith. Among the numerous figures of the 5th century. The statue of a seated Buddha stands out. The statue is made in ideal proportions, the Buddha is immersed in deep meditation, his eyes are cast downwards, an exquisite halo appears behind his head, he sits above six figures that perhaps represent his companions, and in the middle stands the Wheel of the Law - this means that the whole group represents the scene of his first sermon. Among the later sculptures, dating from the 10th to the 12th centuries, one can name two exceptionally graceful figures of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Avalokiteshvara) with a lotus flower and with a bowl.

Chaukhandi Stupa

The brick ruins of the Chaukhandi Stupa, located 1 km south of the main site, date from the Gupta period (300 - 700 AD) and are said to mark the place where the Buddha was reunited with the Panchavargiya Bhikshus, his five companions -ascetics and disciples. This stupa stands on a rectangular terraced plinth and is crowned by a Mughal tower in the shape of an irregular octagon, built by Akbar in 1589 to perpetuate the memory of his father's visit here.

Mulagandha Kuti Vihara and modern attractions

Located east of the Dhamekha Stupa, the tall, church-like Mulagandha Kuti Vihara (free entry) was built in 1931 with donations from the international Buddhist community. Managed by the Mahabodhi Society, devotees from all over the world gathered for its consecration and has now become one of the greatest pilgrimage and tourist attractions in Sarnath. The entrance lobby is decorated with a huge bell, a gift from Japan, and inside is a gilded replica of the museum's famous image of the Buddha, surrounded by wall frescoes depicting scenes from his life.

A little to the east, in a small fenced area, grows the Sarnath Bodhi Tree, which is a shoot of the tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment. Sangamitta, daughter of Emperor Ashoka, took a branch of the original tree in 288 BC. e. and planted it in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, where new shoots were grown over the centuries.

Buddhist communities from other parts of the world are well represented in Sarnath. In addition to the long-established Mahabodhi Society, the Central Institute of Tibetan Studies (tel. 1967/0542), founded in 385142, conducts degree courses in Tibetan philosophy and the ancient Pali language. Next to the Tourist Bugalow Hotel is a traditionally styled Tibetan Temple, with frescoes and a good collection of thangka - Tibetan Buddhist paintings: its central image is of the colossal Shakyamuni, the "Buddha Calling the Earth to Witness" of his enlightenment. The Chinese Temple is located 200 m east of the main gate; in the Burma Temple to the west stands a white marble image of Buddha flanked by two disciples. Behind the Tourist Bungalow are the Japanese Temple and the Thai Temple, the latter run by the Mrigdayavana Mahavihara Society.