Sarnath

Sarnath, about 10 km from the holy city of Varanasi, is the place where Buddha chose to deliver his first sermon. The celebrated Mantra, 'Buddham Sharanam Gachhami', owes its origin to Sarnath. On the day before his death Buddha included Sarnath along with Lumbini, Bodh Gaya and Kushinagar as the four places he thought to be sacred to his followers. It makes Sarnath one of the most venerated Buddhist places. Besides Buddhism, Sarnath is also connected with Jainism. There are many Buddhist monuments and edifices in Sarnath. Some of the important Buddhist monuments at Sarnath are the Dhamekha stupa, the Chaukhandi stupa and monasteries and temples of different schools of Buddhism from Japan, China, Thailand, Burma and others. The Indian Buddhist society called Mahabodhi Society maintains a park around the Buddha temple. The Mahabodhi Temple within the park has a tooth relic of the Buddha. There is also a vast expanse of ancient ruins at Sarnath. Several Buddhist structures were raised at Sarnath between the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD, and today it presents the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail. The Ashoka pillar of Sarnath is the National emblem of India.

Sarnath Museum
Sarnath has yielded a rich collection of sculptures, artifacts and edifices comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images and other ancient remains. To house all the findings and excavations at Sarnath, the Archaeological Survey of India established a site Museum at Sarnath. Finest specimens of Buddhist art and other important remains have been housed at the museum. While the single most famous exhibit of this museum is the lion capital, the Sarnath museum has a small but aweinspiring collection of Buddhist artifacts. Among the things to see is a beautiful sculpture of the Buddha from the fifth century. The Buddha sits cross-legged, with eyes downcast in deep meditation, and a halo around his head. Also worth exploring are several beautiful figures of the bodhisattvas.

Of other Buddhist remains there is an impressive and amazingly beautiful, life-size standing Bodhisattva and a delicate image of the Bodhisattva with a lotus and yet another bronze sculpture showing the Bodhisattva with multiple arms. The museum at Sarnath also houses an excellent collection of figures and sculptures from the Mauryan, the Kushana and the Gupta periods. Prominent of them is the earliest Buddha image found at Sarnath and many images of Hindu Gods dating from the 9th to 12th centuries.

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.

Ashoka Lion Capital

The Ashoka Lion capital or the Sarnath lion capital is the national symbol of India. The Sarnath pillar bears one of the Edicts of Ashoka, an inscription against division within the Buddhist community, which reads, "No one shall cause division in the order of monks". The Sarnath pillar is a column surmounted by a capital, which consists of a canopy representing an inverted bell-shaped lotus flower, a short cylindrical abacus with four 24-spoked Dharma wheels with four animals (an elephant, a bull, a horse, a lion). The four animals in the Sarnath capital are believed to symbolize different steps of Lord Buddha's life. The Elephant represents the Buddha's idea in reference to the dream of Queen Maya of a white elephant entering her womb. The Bull represents desire during the life of the Buddha as a prince. The Horse represents Buddha's departure from palatial life. The Lion represents the accomplishment of Buddha hood.

Besides the religious interpretations, there are some non-religious interpretations also about the symbolism of the Ashoka capital pillar at Sarnath. According to them, the four lions symbolize Ashoka's rule over the four directions, the wheels as symbols of his enlightened rule (Chakravartin) and the four animals as symbols of four adjoining territories of India.

Sarnath Buddhist Temples

There are a number of twentieth century Buddhist temples in Sarnath. Many of these Buddhist temples at Sarnath are built and maintained by monks from Tibet, China and Japan but the main Buddhist temple is the Mulagandhakuti Vihar. The main shrine (vihara), called the Mulagandakuti, is said to be located at the place where Buddha used to stay during his visits to Sarnath. There is a carved sandstone railing inside the temple. In the Mulagandhakuti Vihara there also is a Buddha walk. The recent 'Mulagandhakuti Vihara' or the modern Buddhist temple is 110 feet high with an image of Buddha inside it. Buddhist relics discovered at Taxila are enshrined in this 'Mulagandhkuti Vihara'. There are also fine paintings on the walls of this temple by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu. Buddhist services are conducted there. Besides the Mulagandhakuti Vihara temple there are Chinese, Burmese and Jain temples nearby.

Chaukhandi Stupa
Chaukhandi Stupa is one of the important Buddhist Stupas at Sarnath. It is a lofty mound of brick, whose square edifice is surrounded by an octagonal tower. The Chaukhandi Stupa is said to be originally a terraced temple during the Gupta period (4th to 6th Century). Govardhan, the son of Raja Todarmal, gave the present shape to the Chaukhandi Stupa. He built an octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, the great Mughal ruler. Chaukhandi Stupa was built to mark the place where Lord Buddha met his first disciples as he traveled from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath. Today, the Chaukhandi stupa stands neatly in lush green lawns, well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Draped in the calmness and mystery of history, the Chaukhandi Stupa forms a gateway to the Buddhist city of Sarnath.

Dhamekh Stupa
The Dhamekh Stupa is the most remarkable and massive structure at Sarnath. Built partly in stone and partly in brick, the Dhamekh Stupa is 28 meter in diameter at the base and 43.6 meter in height. The stone facing the lower part is decorated with delicate floral carvings of Gupta period. Dhamekh Stupa has a particular significance at Sarnath as it signifies the place where buddha delivered his first sermon. The present name Dhamekh proves that it certainly has some connection with Buddha's Dharma. According to the Archaeologists, the Dhameka might have been the Stupa built by Ashoka to mark the spot where Lord Buddha preached the Dharmachakrapravartana (set in motion the wheel of law) for the first time to his five disciples.

Dharmrajika Stupa
Dharmrajika Stupa is believed to be the site where the Buddha gave his first sermon. The Dharmrajika Stupa was pulled down in the 18th century by an officer of the Maharaja of Benaras who was looking for building material for constructing a bazaar. At present the 'Dharmrajika Stupa', built by the great Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273-232 B.C.) is in complete ruins. The stupa was enlarged five times during different periods and empires. In the eighteenth century, during the reign of Raja Chet Singh of Benaras, the stupa was again pulled apart by his Dewan, Jagat Singh.