Sarnath | |
|---|---|
Historical Town | |
 View of Sarnath, looking from the ancient Mulagandha Kuty Vihara towards theDhamek Stupa | |
  Sarnath  Sarnath | |
| Coordinates:25°22′41″N83°01′30″E / 25.3780°N 83.0251°E /25.3780; 83.0251 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| District | Varanasi |
| Languages | |
| • Local | Bhojpuri |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 |
| Translations of Sarnath | |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit | सारनाथम् (IAST:saraṅga-nāthá) |
| Bengali | সারনাথ |
| Burmese | ဣသိပတန မိဂဒါဝုန် |
| Chinese | 鹿野苑 (Pinyin:Lùyěyuàn) |
| Indonesian | Sarnath |
| Japanese | サールナート/鹿野苑 (Rōmaji:Sārunāto/Rokuyaon) |
| Korean | 사르나트/녹야원(鹿野園) (RR:Sareunateu/Nokyawon) |
| Sinhala | සාරනාත් |
| Tamil | சாரநாத் |
| Thai | สารนาถ |
| Vietnamese | Sarnath |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
| Pilgrimage to |
| Buddha's Holy Sites |
|---|
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The Four Main Sites |
| Part ofa series on |
| Buddhism |
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Sarnath (also known asDeer Park,[1][2][3]Sarangnath,Isipatana Deer Park,Rishipattana,Migadaya, orMrigadava)[4][5] is a town northeast ofVaranasi, inUttar Pradesh, India. As theLalitavistara sutra states, theGautama Buddha chose "Deer Park by the Hill of the Fallen Sages, outside of Varanasi"[1] for his first teaching after he attainedenlightenment[1] inBodh Gaya. The teaching is entitledDhammacakkappavattana sutra.[6] Sarnath is one of the eight most importantpilgrimage sites for Buddhists, and has been nominated to become aUNESCO World Heritage Site.[7]
Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha'ssangha first convened, when he gave the first teaching to his original five disciplesKaundinya,Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama,[8] known asThe First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.[1] This teaching occurred circa 528 BCE when the Buddha was approximately 35 years of age.
The buddha before Gautama Buddha isKassapa Buddha, who was born in Sarnath to where he returned and joined his sangha of men and women in order to give his first teaching.[5]
Several sources state that the name Sarnath is derived fromSaranganath, which translates to 'Lord of the Deer'. According to Buddhist history, during the local king's hunting trip, a male deer (buck) offered to sacrifice himself to save the life of a female deer (doe) that the king was aiming to kill. Impressed, the king then declared his park would thereafter be a deer sanctuary.[9][10]
According to theMahaparinibbana sutra that issutra 16 of theDigha Nikaya, the Buddha mentioned Sarnath as one of the fourBuddhist pilgrimage sites his devout followers should visit and look upon withfeelings of reverence. The other three sites areLumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha;Bodh Gaya, where Buddha achieved enlightenment; and,Kushinagar, where the Buddha attainedparinirvana.[11][12]
Sarnath is located eight kilometres (five miles) northeast of Varanasi near the confluence of theGanges and theVaruna rivers.
The nameSarnath derives from theSanskrit wordSāranganātha (orSārangnāth inPali),[4] which translates to 'Lord of the Deer' in English.[13] The name refers to anancient Buddhist legend, in which theBodhisattva was a deer and offered his life to a king instead of the doe the king was planning to kill.
The king was so moved that he created the park as a deer sanctuary.[14] The term fordeer park isMriga-dāva in Sanskrit, orMiga-dāya in Pali.[15]
Isipatana is another name used to refer to Sarnath in Pali, the language of thePali Canon. This name corresponds toRishipattana in Sanskrit.The termsisi (Pali) andrishi (Sanskrit) refer to an accomplished and enlightened person.Isipatana andRishipattana therefore translate to "the place where holy men descended",[16] or "the hill of the fallen sages".[17]
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath during thesecond urbanisation,c. 600– 200 BCE, from the time of theMahajanapadas through theNanda Empire andMaurya Empire periods, in part because of patronage from kings and wealthy merchants based inVaranasi.[citation needed] By the 3rd century CE, Sarnath had become an important centre for the Sammatiya school of Buddhism, one of theearly Buddhist schools, as well as for art and architecture.
However, the presence of images ofHeruka andTara indicate thatVajrayana Buddhism was also practised there. Images ofHindu deities such asShiva andBrahma were also found at the site, while aJain temple was located very close to theDhamek Stupa.[citation needed]
Buddhism further expanded in India during theGupta (4th to 6th centuries) period.Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled extensively throughout northern India from 400 to 411 CE. In his description of Sarnath, he mentioned seeing four large towers and twoviharas with monks residing in them.[citation needed]
The influence of Buddhism continued to grow during theLater Gupta (6th–8th centuries). WhenXuanzang visited Sarnath around 640 CE, he reported seeing hundreds of small shrines and votive stupas, and a vihara some 61 metres (200 feet) in height containing a large statue of the Buddha.[18] Xuanzang also wrote that "There are about 1500 priests here, who study theLittle Vehicle according tothe Sammatiya school.[19] In his writings, Xuanzang mentioned apillar constructed by Ashoka near a stupa that marked the location where the Buddha setthe wheel of the law in motion.[20]
During thePala (8th–11th centuries) period, the rulers built newmahaviharas such asOdantapuri,Somapura,Jagaddala, andVikramashila and patronised existing ones such asNalanda and Sarnath. During this time, Buddhist pilgrims and monks from all over Asia travelled to Sarnath to meditate and study. The Palas were the last major Buddhist dynasty to rule in the Indian subcontinent. They were replaced by theGahadavala dynasty, whose capital was located at Varanasi.[citation needed]
Although the Gahadavala kings were Hindu, they were tolerant of Buddhism. Inscriptions unearthed at Sarnath in the early 20th century indicate that some of the monasteries there enjoyed royal patronage from the Gahadavala rulers. For example, in a mid-12th-century inscription attributed to Queen Kumaradevi (consort ofKing Govindachandra) and member of thePithipati dynasty of Bodh Gaya. She takes credit for the construction or restoration of aliving quarters for monks.[21]
It is widely asserted that the structure referred to in the Kumaradevi inscription is the Dharma Chakra Jina Vihar, but the evidence for this is inconclusive. Whatever the case, it is likely to be among the last structures to be built at Sarnath prior to its destruction in 1194.[22] The inscription, excavated at Sarnath in March 1908,[23] is currently maintained at theSarnath Archeological Museum.[24]
Along with Sarnath, the most important Buddhistmahaviharas in India wereVikramashila,Odantapuri, andNalanda, all located in present-dayBihar. All four of these centres of learning continued to thrive throughout the 12th century, probably because of the protection, support and tolerance demonstrated by the Pala and Gahadavala rulers. For example, theKumaradevi inscription mentions that King Govindachandra had protected Varanasi from invasions by theGhaznavids which the inscription refers to as Turushkas[note 1] in the early to mid-12th century.[25] Apart fromNorth India, Buddhismhad been declining throughout the Indian subcontinent and had virtually disappeared by the 11th century.[26]
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent in the late 12th century brought massive plunder and destruction to northern India. Most notable among these were theIndian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor, theGhurid dynasty ruler fromGhazni, which is in present-day Afghanistan.Qutb ud-Din Aibak — the commander ofMuhammad of Ghor's army — led his men from Ghazni to Varanasi and Sarnath in 1194 CE.[27][28]Jayachandra (c. 1170–1194 CE) was the reigningGahadavala dynasty king at that time and was killed during theBattle of Chandawar.[29] Virtually everything of value in Varanasi and Sarnath was destroyed or plundered.
Qutbuddin Aibek reportedly carted away some 1400 camel loads of treasure.[30] According to the 13th-century Persian historianHasan Nizami, "nearly 1000 temples were destroyed and mosques were raised on their foundations, theRais and chiefs of Hind came forward to proffer their allegiance [to the Ghurids]".[31]
While Qutbuddin Aibek destroyed Sarnath, it was the troops ofMuhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji—another of Muhammad of Ghor's slave generals—that continued to destroy sites sacred to Buddhists. They destroyed Vikramashila in 1193, Odantapuri in 1197, and Nalanda in 1200.[32] The Buddhists who survived in northern India fled toNepal,Sikkim,Tibet,[33] orSouth India. By the end of the 12th century, Buddhist monastic centers and their vast libraries had nearly disappeared from the Indian subcontinent.[34]
However, according to some scholars, fresh re-assessments of evidence from archaeology[26] in addition to historical records[35] have disputed this view of Muslim invasions as the major cause of the decline of Buddhism in India or the destruction of such Buddhist sites as Sarnath — arguing, instead, "thatBrahmanical hostility toward Buddhists resulted in the destruction of Sarnath and other sites".[30] According to archaeologistGiovanni Verardi: "Contrary to what is usually believed, the great monasteries of Gangetic India, from Sarnath to Vikramaśīla, from Odantapurī to Nālandā, were not destroyed by the Muslims, but appropriated and transformed by the Brahmans with only the occasional intervention of the Muslim forces".[26] According to Verardi, "orthodox" Brahmins — who had been gaining in power and influence during theGahadavala andSena dynasties, therival Hindu-revivalist dynasties of northern/eastern India — "accepted Muslim rule in exchange for the extirpation of Buddhism and the repression of the social sectors in revolt."[26] Archaeologist Federica Barba writes that the Gahadavalas built largeHindu temples in traditional Buddhist sites such as Sarnath, and converted Buddhist shrines into Brahmanical ones: Evidence indicates that Buddhists had been expelled from Sarnath during the mid 12th-century, under the Gahadavala rule, and it already was in the process of being converted to a largeShiva temple compound before Muslim invaders arrived.[36][30]
Very few Buddhists remained in India after theirpersecution and expulsion at the end of the 12th century by the Ghurids. Buddhists from Tibet, Burma, and Southeast Asia continued to make pilgrimages to South Asia from the 13th to the 17th centuries, but their most common destination wasBodh Gaya and not Sarnath.[37] Sarnath continued to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains, however. A 17th-centuryJain manuscript written in 1612 CE (theTirthakalpa, by Jinaprabha Suri) describes a Jain temple in Varanasi as being located close to "a famous Bodisattva sanctuary" at a place calleddharmeksā. This Sanskrit word translates to "pondering of the law", and clearly refers to the Dhamek Stupa.[38]
India experienced an increase in visitation by European people in the late 18th century. In 1778,William Hodges became possibly the first Britishlandscape painter to visit India.[39] While there, he made careful observations of the art and architecture he encountered. He published an illustrated book about his travels in India in 1794. In his book, he described mosques and other Islamic architecture, Hindu temples, andGreek-inspired columns.[40] Hodges also briefly described theDhamek Stupa, although he mistook it to be a ruined Hindu temple.[41][42]
In what is the first incontrovertible modern reference to the ruins at Sarnath,Jonathan Duncan (a charter member of theAsiatic Society and laterGovernor of Bombay) described the discovery of a green marblereliquary encased in a sandstone box in the relic chamber of a brick stupa at that location. The reliquary was discovered in January 1794, during the dismantling of a stupa (referred to byAlexander Cunningham as stupa "K" or the "Jagat Singh stupa",[43] later identified as the Dharmarajika Stupa)[44] by employees ofZamindar Jagat Singh (thedewan ofMaharaja Chait Singh, theRaja of Benares).[45] Duncan published his observations in 1799.[46][47][48]
The reliquary contained a few bones and some pearls, which were subsequently thrown into theGanges river.[49] The reliquary itself has also disappeared, although the outer sandstone box was replaced in the relic chamber, where it was rediscovered by Cunningham in 1835.[45] The bricks of the stupa were hauled off and used for the construction of the market inJagatganj, Varanasi.[50] Jagat Singh and his crew also removed a large part of the facing of the Dhamek Stupa, and removed several Buddha statues which he retained at his house in Jagatganj.[51]
The next modern description of Sarnath was byFrancis Buchanan-Hamilton, who visited the site around 1813. He drew a crude map of the site—which he called Buddha Kashi—at that time.[52]Colin Mackenzie was an officer in theBritish East India Company who later became the firstSurveyor General of India. Visiting Sarnath in 1815, he was the first to describe a dedicated exploration of the ruins.[45] Throughout the early 19th century, amateur archeologists explored and excavated at Sarnath, removing antiquities, and several artists drew sketches of the site (especially of the Dhamek Stupa).[53]
In 1835–1836, a 21-year-old British Army engineer with theBengal Engineer Group namedAlexander Cunningham conducted the first systematic archaeological excavations at Sarnath.[54] He had carefully studied the writings ofFaxian andXuanzang, two Chinese Buddhist monks who travelled extensively throughout northern India in the early 5th and early 7th centuries, respectively. Based on their writings and those of Duncan, he conducted some careful measurements and excavations at Sarnath in 1835–1836. During the course of these excavations, Cunningham discovered and removed many statues from monastery "L" and temple "M", as well as the sandstone box reported by Duncan from the Dharmarajika Stupa. He presented these items to theAsiatic Society of Bengal, and they are now located in theIndian Museum in Kolkata.[45] By 1836, Cunningham had conclusively identified Sarnath as the location ofthe Buddha's first sermon.[55][56] In 1861, Cunningham became the founder and first Director-General of theArchaeological Survey of India.
In 1851–1852, Markham Kittoe (1808–1853) conducted further excavations at Sarnath. Kittoe noted the presence of four stupas at Sarnath and excavated a structure he described as a hospital, which was located roughly midway between the Dhamek and Jagat Singh stupas.[57] He also recovered a seated Buddha statue from Jagat Singh's house and transcribed its inscription.[58] In his writings, Kittoe speculated that Sarnath was destroyed as a result of a great fire.[59]
Sometime in the mid-19th century, Sarnath was subjected to further depredations, as 48 statues and a tremendous amount of bricks and stones were removed from the historic site to be used in the construction of two bridges over theVaruna River.[60] A final instance of despoilation occurred around 1898, when many bricks and stones were removed from Sarnath and used as ballast for a narrow-gauge railway that was under construction at that time.[61]
Friedrich Oertel conducted extensive excavations in 1904–1905. His team focused on the area near stupa "J" (theDhamek Stupa), stupa "K" ("Jagat Singh stupa", now known as the Dharmarajika Stupa), monastery "L", temple "M", hospital "N", monastery "O", and theAshokan pillar. In March 1905, the team exhumed parts of the base and shaft of the pillar with itsSchismEdict,lion capital, and remnants of thedharmachakra sculpture.[62] Dating to c. 241-233 BCE,[63] these are the oldest and most important relics discovered at Sarnath thus far.[6]J. Ph. Vogel translated the inscription—which was written in theBrahmi of theMaurya period-and tentatively dated it to 249 BCE.[64]
According to theMahaparinibbana Sutta (Sutta 16 of theDigha Nikaya), the Buddha mentioned Sarnath as one of thefour places of pilgrimage his devout followers should visit and look upon withfeelings of reverence.[11][12] During the British East India'scolonial rule, ancient sites such as Sarnath were subjected to extensive archaeological study. Certain levels of restoration occurred decades later.
Consequently, Sarnath has regained its former status as a place of pilgrimage, both for Buddhists andJains. In 1998, Sarnath wasnominated for inclusion on theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list ofWorld Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value tocultural heritage. The nomination comprises two groups of monuments: group "A" is represented by theChaukhandi Stupa, while all other monuments (e.g., temples, stupas, monasteries, and the pillar of Ashoka) are included as part of group "B".[65]
The sites of the greatest importance to Buddhist pilgrims include:
In addition to the archaeological ruins, there are a number of other pilgrimage sites and places of worship in Sarnath. Among these are included:
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Singhpur (Simhapuri), a village approximately 1.7 kilometres (1 mile) northwest of Sarnath,[38] is believed to be the birthplace ofShreyansanatha, the 11thtirthankara ofJainism.[77] It is also the place where four of thefive auspicious life events of Shreyansanatha took place. According toJain cosmology, the fifth auspicious life event is the attainment ofmoksha. Shreyansanatha was among the twenty Jaintirthankaras who attainedmoksha inSametshikhar.[77]
Sarnath has been an importantpilgrimage site for Jains for centuries.[78] A 17th-centuryJain manuscript describes a Jain temple in Varanasi as being located close to "a famous Bodisattva sanctuary" at a place calleddharmeksā. This Sanskrit word translates to "pondering of the law", and clearly refers to the Dhamek Stupa. The current edifice—Sarnath Jain Tirth (also known as the Shri Digamber Jain Temple or Shreyanshnath Jain Temple)—was constructed in 1824.[38] Located only about 70 metres (230 feet) southwest of the Dhamek Stupa, this temple is dedicated to Shreyansanatha.[78] The main deity of this temple is a blue-coloured statue of Shreyansanatha, 75 centimetres (30 inches) in height, in thelotus position.[citation needed]
Tourist attractions unrelated to Buddhism and spirituality in Sarnath include the Sarnath Deer Park and Fish Canal, and the Sarnath Turtle Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre.
| Year | International | Domestic | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 362,113 | 838,566 | 1,200,679 |
| 2014 | 374,268 | 899,457 | 1,273,725 |
| 2015 | 388,102 | 924,552 | 1,312,654 |
| 2016 | 409,242 | 957,320 | 1,366,562 |
| 2017 | 430,682 | 1,024,589 | 1,455,271 |
| 2018 | 435,752 | 1,070,035 | 1,505,787 |
| 2019 | 336,136 | 1,132,615 | 1,468,751 |
In her 1832 poetical illustration
Sarnat, a Boodh Monument., to a picture bySamuel Prout,Letitia Elizabeth Landon compared the four major religions of the world and mentioned the persecution and subsequent expulsion of the Buddhists from India.[80]
Sarnath is one of the locations ofRudyard Kipling's 1901 novelKim. Teshoo Lama stays at the "Temple of the Tirthankhers" in Sarnath when not on his pilgrimages.[81]
"The Nameless City" is a fictionalshort story published in 1921 byH. P. Lovecraft. When the narrator of this story sees the ruins of the Nameless City, he "thought of Sarnath the Doomed, that stood in the land of Mnar when mankind was young, and of Ib, that was carven of grey stone before mankind existed."[82] Lovecraft had previously described the fictional city of Sarnath in his 1920 story "The Doom That Came to Sarnath".[83]
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![The Lion Capital of Ashoka, the Buddha Preaching his First Sermon sculpture, and the Ashokan pillar, along with other antiquities as they appeared upon their exhumation at Sarnath on 15 March 1905 (photograph by F. O. Oertel).[84]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBuddha_in_Sarnath.jpg)
![Greco-Persian sculpture of the head of a West Asian foreigner from the Maurya period, Sarnath Museum[85]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMauryan_head_from_Sarnath.jpg)
![Perso-Ionic capital of the Mauryan period, excavated at Sarnath[86]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSarnath_Mauryan_capital.jpg)
![The Bala Bodhisattva, an important statue for dating Indian art, was discovered at Sarnath. The statue was dedicated in "the year 3 of Kanishka" (circa 129 CE).[87]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBala_Bodhisattva_with_shaft_and_umbrella.jpg)
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Sarnath travel guide from Wikivoyage| Art | |
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