Sarnath Varanasi
Sarnath (along with Bodhgaya and Kushinagar in India and Lumbini in Nepal) is one of the world’s four most important Buddhist pilgrimage destinations. It has special significance because it’s the place where the Buddha gave his first sermon. However, you don’t have to be Buddhist to enjoy visiting it. Sarnath also makes a peaceful and refreshing side trip from Varanasi. Many people are surprised to discover Sarnath has Jain and Hindu connections too. Find out what you need to know to visit in this guide.
History of Sarnath
A long time ago, around the 5th century B.C., a young prince named Siddhartha Guatama was born in Lumbini. He led a very sheltered and lavish life. However, just before he turned 30, he ventured out into the countryside, where he encountered illness and death. This prompted him to give everything up and search for liberation from suffering.
Eventually, he realized that liberation comes from disciplining the mind. He then sat down to meditate under a sacred fig tree and resolved not to get up until he became enlightened. It happened profoundly on one full moon night. The tree (which came to be known as the Bodhi tree in reflection of his awakening) was located at the site of the magnificent Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya.
The Buddha didn’t start preaching at Bodhgaya, though. There were five people he wanted to teach first. He’d previously practiced physical discipline with them as a means to liberation. They’d left him in disgust after he decided it wasn’t the right path to liberation. The Buddha heard they were dwelling in a deer park at Sarnath, so he headed there. They were so impressed with his newfound wisdom and Four Noble Truths that they became his first disciples.
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath due to its proximity to Varanasi. However, most of the structures were built by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka a couple of centuries after the religion was established. Guilt over his brutal invasion of Kalinga (present-day Odisha on India’s east coast) caused him to convert to Buddhism and practice nonviolence. He enthusiastically went about constructing stupas and pillars across India to promote the religion.
The most celebrated pillar is the one at Sarnath. The national emblem of India, featuring four lions and a dharma chakra (the wheel representing Buddhist teachings), is derived from it. The chakra also appears on the Indian flag.
Subsequent rulers added to the stupas and monasteries that Ashoka built at Sarnath. During the reign of the Gupta dynasty in the 4th century A.D., Sarnath was an active center of art and Buddhist sculpture. By the 7th century, Sarnath had become a major center for the study of Buddhism, and thousands of monks were living in monasteries there.
Unfortunately, Turkish Muslim invaders arrived in the 12th century and destroyed much of Sarnath and many other Buddhist sites in North India. Most of what remained of the Dharmarajika Stupa, made by Ashoka, was further demolished in the late 18th century by Jagat Singh (Dewan of Raja Chet Singh of Banaras) and used as building materials. However, this rediscovery of Sarnath prompted British archeologists to excavate the site in the 19th and 20th centuries.
What to See in Sarnath?
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