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Sarnath, located just 12 km from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, is the site of the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma after his enlightenment. Sarnath is one of four holy Buddhist sites sanctioned by the Buddha himself for pilgrimage. The other three sites are: Lumbini (birth); Bodh Gaya (enlightenment); and Kushinagar (death).
Sarnath has previously been known as Mrigadava, "deer park," and Isipatana, meaning the place where holy men (Pali: isi) fell to earth. The latter name is based in the legend that when the Buddha was born, devas came down to announce it to 500 holy men. The holy men all rose into the air and disappeared and their relics fell to the ground.
The current name Sarnath, from Saranganath, means "Lord of the Deer" and relates to another old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe he is planning to kill. The king is so moved that he creates the park as a sanctuary for deer.
History of Sarnath
After his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, the Buddha went to Sarnath seeking his five former companions. He found them, taught them what he had learned, and they also became enlightened. This event is referred to as "the turning of the wheel of the Dharma" and also marks the founding of the Sangha, or the community of monks.
Buddha's first discourse, delivered here at Sarnath, is known in Pali as the Dhammacakkhapavathana Sutta. Other Suttas include the Anattalakhana Sutta and the Saccavibhanga Sutta. The Buddha's central teaching after his enlightenment centered around the Four Noble Truths (concerning the meaning of life) and the Noble Eightfold Path (concerning the right way to live).
The Buddha spent the next rainy season in Sarnath at the Mulagandhakuti vihara. The Sangha having grown to 60 in number, the Buddha sent them out to teach the Dharma to others.
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath in part because of the support of kings and wealthy merchants based in nearby Varanasi. By the 3rd century Sarnath had become an important center for the arts, which reached its zenith during the Gupta period (4th-6th century AD). When Hsuan Tsang visited from China in the 7th century, he found 30 monasteries and 3000 monks living at Sarnath.
Sarnath became a major center of the Sammatiya school of Buddhism, one of the Nikaya or Hinayana schools. The presence of images of Heruka and Tara indicate that Vajrayana Buddhism was also practiced here.
At the end of the 12th century, Sarnath was sacked by Turkish Muslims. The site was subsequently plundered for building materials and has remained in ruins until the present day. The site was entirely deserted until 1836, when the British began excavations and restoration.
Things to see at Sarnath
Sarnath is the most historical and Buddhist holy place in the Varanasi, popular among tourists for tourism for various religions like Buddhist, Jainism and Hinduism. It has so peaceful, clean and calm environment which provides lots of mind and body relaxation. It can be felt like a new world of heaven on the earth, totally away from the rush, dust and crowd. Sarnath is an amazing place having lots of things to see. Some of them are mentioned below:
Chaukhandi Stupa
Chaukhandi Stupa is the place where Lord Buddha met his 5 disciples first in Sarnath. It is considered that he came to Sarnath after getting enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in 528 BCE to meet his disciples Mahanama, Koudanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Asvajita in order to share his real knowledge got during enlightenment. Chaukhandi Stupa is situated at 13 km from Varanasi. It was built of brick like octagonal tower during 4th to 6th century in the Gupta period. It was little bit restructured by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the year 1588 to memorize in future the shelter of Humayun at Sarnath.
Dhamekh Stupa
Dhamekh Stupa is the place where Lord Buddha had given his first conversation of Dharma. It is made up of brick in a solid and cylindrical shape of height 43.6 m and diameter of 28 m. It was founded by the king Ashoka in the 249 BCE. It was rebuilt during 5th century when modifications were added. It is also called as the Dharma Chakra Stupa. This stupa contains 8 niches having images of Lord Buddha.
Dharmarajika Stupa
Dharmarajika Stupa is the very significant place located near to the Dhamekh Stupa. It is considered that this place has the remains of bones of the Lord Buddha. It was built by the King Ashoka which was destroyed in 1794 by the Jagat Singh (to get bricks for another construction purpose) during which a box with bones was found. The box is still kept safely at the Indian Museum, Kolkata. It is considered as the bones were disposed off in Ganga by the Jagat Singh.
Archaeological Museum
There is a famous Archaeological Museum at the Sarnath built for placing and protecting the historical things very safely as an ancient antique. It is located near to the archaeological ruins across the road. It has various ancient objects from the Buddhist arts, images of Hindu Gods and etc. It consists of the five galleries and two varandah. It is strictly prohibited to have photography inside museum to keep secret the historical things. It opens at 10.00 am in the morning till 5.00 pm in the evening from Saturday to Thursday.
Ashoka Pillar
Ashoka Pillar is the great thing to see at Sarnath, located amidst the ruins. It is structured representing broken stone cylinders. Actually these are considered as the remnants of the real Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath. Ashoka was a great Mauryan emperor who had constructed various pillars after his name all over the India. Originally these are having height of 12.25 m and diameter of 0.71 m base, 0.56 m top having Lion Capital (four back to back lions). Each of the Ashoka Pillars has Ashoka Chakra at the top which was broken by the Turk invasions. Broken Ashoka Pillars and fragments of the Ashoka Chakra were founded in 1904 during mining and digging at the Sarnath. The Lion Capital is still kept safely for the exhibition purpose at the Sarnath Archaeological Museum.
Bodhi Tree
It is located near to the Mulagandhakuti Vihara Buddhist temple, called as the holy Bodhi vriksha. It is the most holy place for the people of Buddhist religion as Lord Buddha had attained his enlightenment here beneath the tree. It is planted at the Sarnath by the founder of Maha Bodhi Society of India (Sri Devamitta Dhammapala) on 12th of November in 1931 by taking a branch from the real Sri Maha Bodhi tree of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
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