Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath
Sarnath, Varanasi
Managed byArchaeological Survey of India (ASI)
CategoryReligious Heritage
The deer park where the Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, setting the "Wheel of Dharma" in motion. Sarnath's ruins include the towering Dhamek Stupa, the remains of Ashokan pillars, and monastery foundations spanning over a millennium of Buddhist patronage, from the Mauryan to the Gupta period.
Did you know? The four-lion capital atop Ashoka's pillar at Sarnath, now in the Sarnath Museum, was adopted as independent India's national emblem in 1950, and the wheel beneath the lions inspired the Ashoka Chakra on the national flag.
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