Sarnath - 2010
Sarnath, 13km from Varanasi, is a sacred Buddhist site where Buddha gave his first sermon in 528BC.
Sarnath, from Saranganath, means "Lord of the Deer" and relates to an old Buddhist story
in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill.
The king is so moved that he created the park as a sanctuary for deer.
In the 3rd century BC, Asoka had magnigicent stupas and monasteries erected as well as an engraved pillar.
In 640AD, when Chinese traveller Xuan Zang passed by, there were 1500 monks living in large monasteries.
Buddhism went into decline soon afterwards and when Muslim invaders destroyed and
desecrated the city's buildings, Sarnath disappeared altogether.
It was rediscovered by British archaeologists in 1835.
Today it is one of the 4 important sites for Buddhist pilgrims (along with Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Lumbini in Nepal).
The impressive 34m high Dhameka stupa marks the spot where Buddha gave his first sermon in 528BC.
Large rectangular bricks were used in construction of the monasteries.
Mulgandha Kuti Vihar, built in 1931, is a nearby Buddhist temple.
Sarnath, 13km from Varanasi, is a sacred Buddhist site where Buddha gave his first sermon in 528BC.
Sarnath, from Saranganath, means "Lord of the Deer" and relates to an old Buddhist story
in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill.
The king is so moved that he created the park as a sanctuary for deer.
In the 3rd century BC, Asoka had magnigicent stupas and monasteries erected as well as an engraved pillar.
In 640AD, when Chinese traveller Xuan Zang passed by, there were 1500 monks living in large monasteries.
Buddhism went into decline soon afterwards and when Muslim invaders destroyed and
desecrated the city's buildings, Sarnath disappeared altogether.
It was rediscovered by British archaeologists in 1835.
Today it is one of the 4 important sites for Buddhist pilgrims (along with Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Lumbini in Nepal).
The impressive 34m high Dhameka stupa marks the spot where Buddha gave his first sermon in 528BC.
Large rectangular bricks were used in construction of the monasteries.
Mulgandha Kuti Vihar, built in 1931, is a nearby Buddhist temple.
