SARNATH

Sarnath, about 10kms from the holy city of Varanasi, is the blessed locale where more that 2,500 years ago Buddha chose to deliver his first sermon, after attaining Nirvana. The five disciples who had followed him were surprised to see the mesmerising glowing countenance of Buddha, who convinced them and delivered his sermon before them, now termed Dharmachakra Parivartan. This set in motion the great Buddhist tradition of the Sangha, for popularising the teachings of the great ascetic, worldwide.

Gautam Buddha with his five disciples formed the first Sangha along with Yasa of Varanasi and his 54 friends.This is one of the most famous Buddhist centers of India and is located 6 km north of Hindu pilgrimage center Benares - in Uttar Pradesh, near the highway to Ghazipur.
There are four sacred Buddhist pilgrimage centers in the Indian subcontinent. The first of these is the birthplace of Buddha at Lumbinivana, east of Kapilavastu. The second most sacred place of pilgrimage is Buddha Gaya where he attained enlightenment. The third most sacred pilgrimage center for Buddhists is Sarnath or Isipatan where Buddha delivered his first sermon, and the fourth is Kushinara or Kashia in Uttar Pradesh, where he finally gave up his mortal self.
The earliest remains here at Sarnath are from the Mauryan period ascribed to Emperor Ashoka the great. The Lion Capital is the national emblem of India. The Dharmarajika Stupa was built by Ashoka, and it was expanded and enlarged several times upto the 12th century CE. The structures here were destroyed by repeated invasions - and by gradual neglect - and what are seen today are the results of repeated reconstruction efforts.The Dhamekh stupa is a cylindrical tower, 143 feet high, and 93 feet high. The stones in each layer were bound together by iron clamps. This tower dates back to the Gupta period.
The Chinese traveller Hsuen Tsang who visited India in the 7th century CE, speaks of the glory of Sarnath and of the structures that existed then.

A modern temple to Buddha has been built here in the 20th century, housing several of the Buddhist relics excavated here. On Buddha Purnima, the birthday of Buddha, relics of the Buddha are taken out in procession. The archeological museum at Sarnath houses several Buddhist sculptures and relics. The Mahabodhi library here houses a rich collection of Buddhist manuscripts and writings.The beginning of the celebrated Mantra, ‘Buddham Sharanam Gachhami’, owes its origin to Sarnath. The three Jewels - "I go for refuge to the Buddha, I go for refuge to the Wheel of Law, I go for refuge to the Sangha" - first laid here, have remained unchanged ever since. Hence rightly, every Buddhist pilgrim after Bodhgaya endeavours to be blessed with a visit to Sarnath in his lifetime.

Dhamekh Stupa bears particular significance at Sarnath as it signifies the "seat of the holy Buddha", as he proclaimed his faith. It is about 34 meters in height and including the foundations, it can be measured upto 42 mtrs. Besides Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath also has the ruins of Dharmajajika Stupa and that of the original Mulgandha Kuti Vihar Temple, which according to Hieun Tsang was about 61 meters high. Buddha is said to have rested and meditated here while in Sarnath.

Emperor Ashoka (273-232 BC), converted to Buddhism after the Kalinga war and also visited Sarnath. A smooth glistening pillar, called the Ashoka Pillar commemorates his visit and laid the foundation of the Buddhist Sangha here. The Lion Capital on top of this pillar is now the National Emblem of India.

The Chaukhandi Stupa was originally terraced temple during the Gupta period (4th to 6th Century). However in 1588 AD, Govardhan, the son of Raja Todarmal, built an octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, father of Akbar. Govardhan later went on to become the Governor under Akbar’s rule.

Similarly Akbar, the great Mughal Emperor who revered all religions alike, raised the Chaukhandi Stupa in 1555 AD.

Getting There: Sarnath is a mere 10 kms from Varanasi which is very well connected with the rest of India by rail/air/road. Babatpur Airport, which has been approved for international operations and chartered flights, is 22 kms from Varanasi and is connected to Kathmandu, Agra, Delhi, Khajuraho and Mumbai. The two major railway stations, Varanasi and Mughal Sarai have direct rail links with Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and other major towns.

The archeological excavations here have yielded a large number of sculptures and figurines, coins, punch-marked and cast coins and terracotta sculptures which show the reverence the city was held in by the devout, in times gone by.

All these archaeological finds of historical and religious importance can be viewed at the Allahabad Museum.

Sanchi is a serene hill crowned by a group of stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars dating from 3rd Century BC to 12th Century AD. The glory that was Sanchi, an ancient seat of Buddhist learning and place of pilgrimage, can still be experienced in its complex structures where many Buddhist legends found expression in the rich sculpture.

The Buddha is not represented through figures at Sanchi, but through symbols, as was the tradition in the early period of Buddhism. The lotus represents the Buddha’s birth, the tree signifies his enlightenment, the wheel represents his first sermon and the stupa represents his nirvana or salvation. The footprints and the throne denote the Buddha’s presence.

Sanchi was virtually forgotten after the 13th Century until 1818, when General Taylor, a British Officer rediscovered it, half buried and well preserved. Later in 1912, Sir john Marshal, Director General of Archaeology ordered the restoration work at the site. Some of the important monuments in Sanchi are:

The Great Stupa No.1, 36.5 mtrs in diameter and 16.4 mtrs high, it is one of the oldest stone structures in India. With a massive hemispherical dome, the Stupa stands majestically.

The paved procession path around it has become smooth by centuries of pilgrims’ visit. Built originally as an earthen stupa by the Emperor Ashoka, it was rebuilt in the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BC. The last of the additions to this remarkable stupa are the elaborate and richly carved four gateways or Toranas. The first of the four gateways to be erected was the one at the Southern Entrance, followed, in chronological order by the Northern, The Eastern and the Western Gateways.

The Southern Gateway reveals the birth of Gautam in a series of dramatically rich carvings. The Northern Gateway, crowned by a wheel of law, illustrates the miracle associated with the Buddha as told in the Jataka tales. The Eastern Gateway, depicts the young prince, Gautam, leaving his father’s palace, renouncing worldly life to seek enlightenment. The inner face of the right pillar portrays the dream of Maya, the mother of Buddha, when she conceived him. The Western Gateway depicts the Seven incarnations of the Buddha, four represented by trees and three by stupas; the Buddha preaching his first sermon at the Deer Park, Sarnath and the Chhaddanta Jataka tale.

Stupa No. 2, dating back to the 2nd Century BC, stands at the very edge of the hill and its most striking feature is the stone balustrade that surrounds it.

Stupa No. 3, situated northeast of the Great Stupa is where the relics of Sariputra and Mahamogalana, the two famous disciples of the Buddha were found in its inner most chambers. The hemispherical dome is crowned, as a mark of its special religious significance, with an umbrella of polished stone. It has only one gateway. This structure belongs to the period between 150-140 BC.

Ashoka Pillar, with its four lion head stump, erected during the 3rd Century BC, is situated close to the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa. Though, similar to the intricately carved pillar in Sarnath, the lions did not support a "Wheel of Law" (Dharmachakra). A unique feature if this pillar is its brilliant polish.

The Gupta Temple (4th Century Ad), in ruins now, is one of the earliest known examples of temple architecture in India. It consists of a simple flat roofed chamber with a pillared porch in the front.

Temple 18, a Chaitya Hall, situated in front of the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa is comparatively recent (around 7th Century AD) resembles the rock cut chaitya halls at Karla Caves in Maharashtra. The Monastery and Temple 45 built between the 7th and 11th Centuries, show more developed styles of architecture. On the ornamental doorway here, one can see the image of Buddha with an oval Halo.

The Great Bowl, carved out of one block of stone, contained food that was distributed amongst the monks of Sanchi.