Sarnath Audio Tour on HopOn India App – Land of Buddha’s First Sermon, Varanasi

This temple was built in the year 1939. It is a huge temple, built across acres of land. It is said that the stone used to make the statues of this temple were brought from China and Myanmar. This style of making statues is called brusni style, and Chinese artisans are experts in the art of carving. You can see the idol of Lord Buddha right in front of you. Along with the idol, you will also see pictures of the five main Chinese religious saints Mozi, Mencius, Lolaozi, Confucius and Zhuang Zhou. Here is a golden opportunity for you to sit before lord Buddha and reflect or meditate.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

During his visit to India, when Hiuen Tsang came to Sarnath, this temple was not there. The MulagandhaKutiVihara of that time was located at a little distancefrom this temple. Hiuen Tsang has provideda detailed description of that Vihara. He has written that its height was about 61 meters. On the basis of the remains of the temple and the style of brick-making and decorations, archaeologists believe that the vihara of that time was built in the Gupta period. With the passage of time that temple turned into ruins. The temple which you see today was built by AngarikaDharmapala, who came from Srilanka and founded Maha Bodhi Society in India. In the modern history of Sarnath, he has a special place.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sarnath Deer Park

MrigaVihara or deer park is a kind of mini zoo now, with lots of deer,and some other animals and birds as well. If you have children with you, then you must visit this zoo. But even otherwise, if you have an interest in birds and animals and like to spend some time in the lap of nature, don’t hesitate--go and visit the zoo.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

This stupa was initially built here by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, who also build many other monuments here. Emperor Ashoka was one of the great kings of Indian history and the third king of the famous Mauryan dynasty. He was the son of king Bindusara and queen JanpadaKalyani. It is believed that he was born sometime around 297 BC. Ashoka was a chakravartin king, whose empire expanded to almost all of present-dayIndia and Pakistan and also stretched up to Hindukush and the border of Iran in the north- west. To expand his empire, he fought numerous battles and shed a lot of blood. Then the dreadful battle of Kalinga happened. Ashoka was shaken by the sight of such gore. His distressed heart foundsolace in Buddhism. He decided to give up violence and to move on the path of dharma. The teachings of Lord Buddha converted emperor Ashoka into saint Ashoka.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

If India’s history and archaeology pique your interest, then this place will turn out to be a treasure trove for you. Towards your right, you can see relics of an ancient civilization scattered all around. These relics are extremely important sources of historical information about the area — its society and culture. Across the enormous ground stretching to the right of the path you can catch glimpses of the ruins of an ancient Buddha Vihara, or monastery.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The broken pillar that you will see here is what remains of the famous pillar of Ashoka now. When unbroken, the pillar, like Dharmarajikastupa, was very tall. Along with stupas, Ashoka had built many pillars in the whole of north India. The height of his stupas was between 40 to 50 feet, and they weighted around 50 tons. The broken upper part of this pillar is kept well-preserved in a museum, right here in Sarnath. A little later on this very walk, we will go to that museum.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Archaeological excavation started in 1904 in Sarnath. Soon, such a large number of archaeological artefacts were unearthed that a need was felt to build an archaeological museum here. Consequently, this museum was founded in 1910. You can visit the museum between 10:00 am and 05:00 pm. I hope it’s not a Friday today, because the museum remains closed on Fridays. Cameras and mobile phones etc. are not allowed inside this museum; hence, pause my narration, deposite your electronic devices and then go inside. It is probably not the biggest museum you have seen, but it is an extremely important one, simply because the top of the Ashoka pillar is kept here. As soon as you enter the museum, you will be able to catch the first glimpse of this column head, made of sandstone. The entire museum is divided into many galleries. Each gallery has a touchscreen computer, which tells you about the artefacts displayed in that particular gallery.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Buddhism is an important religion in South-east Asia, and many countries from the region have constructed their own temples in Sarnath. This temple that you see now was constructed by the government of Thailand, and it will give you a glimpse of the culture of Thailand.. The Thai temple you will observe thatthis temple stands right in the middle of a big open ground. The temple is not the only thing to see in this campus. There are many beautiful statues here as well. The moment you enter the temple campus, you will see an extremely large statue of Lord Buddha. This is the main attraction of this temple. At the time of its construction, this was the tallest statue of standing Buddha in India.

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free

It is said that this is the place where Buddha first met with his five disciples--Vappa, Mahanama, Kaundinya, Bhaddiya and Ashwavijit. From here, they went to the place where today stands the Dhamekhstupa, and there,Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. Here I must tell you one thing -- the day when Buddha gave his first sermon was the day of VaishakhPurnima. Call it a coincidence or a miracle -- the day when he was born and the day he died were also Vaishakhpurnimas. Today, in his honor, the day is also known as Buddha Purnima. As we move closer to the stupa, you should know that this is the same road bywhich we had come to Sarnath from Varanasi, which means that we have completed almost one full round of Sarnath. It is said that this stupa was originally built as a terraced temple. It was constructed in the 4th or 5th century. Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler who visited Sarnath in the 7th century, has described this stupa in his writings. This 93 ft. tall stupa is constructed on a quadrilateral base. During the excavation around this stupa, numerous statues were found. Among them, the statue of the turning of the wheel of dharma -- or Buddha delivering his first sermon -- is the most important one

10 Minutes • Admission Ticket Free