Sarnath Temple

Dhamek stupa at Sarnath temple varanasi uttar pradesh. Sarnath buddhism, Buddhist sangha came into existence through the enlightenment. Gautama Buddha 1st taught Dharma. Sarnath stupa, is located 13 kilometers north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh India. The deer park in Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Singhpur, a village approximately one kilometre away from the site, was the birthplace of Shreyansnath, the Eleventh Tirthankara of Jainism, and a temple dedicated to him, is an important pilgrimage site.

Dhamek stupa Sarnath

Sarnath has been variously known as Mrigadava, Migadāya, Rishipattana and Isipatana throughout its long history. Mrigadava means “deer-park”. Isipatana is the name used in the Pali Canon, and means the place where holy men (Pali: isi, Sanskrit: rishi) landed. The legend says that when the Buddha-to-be was born, some devas came down to announce it to 500 rishis. The rishis all rose into the air and disappeared and their relics fell to the ground. Another explanation for the name is that Isipatana was so called because sages, on their way through the air (from the Himalayas), alight here or start from here on their aerial flight (isayo ettha nipatanti uppatasanti cāti-Isipatana). Pacceka Buddhas, having spent seven days in contemplation in the Gandhamādana, bathe in the Anotatta Lake and come to the habitations of men through the air, in search of alms. They descend to earth at Isipatana. Sometimes the Pacceka Buddhas come to Isipatana from Nandamūlaka pabbhāra.

Mulagandha Kuti Vihara

Xuanzang quotes the Nigrodha Miga Jātaka (J.i.145ff) to account for the origin of the Migadāya. According to him the Deer Park was a forest given by the king of Benares of the Jātaka, where deer might wander unmolested. The Migadāya was so-called because deer were allowed to roam about there unmolested. Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit Sāranganātha, which means “Lord of the Deer”, and relates to another 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 creates the park as a sanctuary for deer. The park is active in modern times.