![]() The lofty brick mound of the Chaukhandi stupa is the first monument a visitor encounters in Sarnath. Mud paths meander their way between monuments and ruins. Today most of the ruins are found in one place protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. ![]() Sarnath today is a major place of pilgrimage, both for Buddhists from India and abroad. It was Col Mackenzie in 1815 and later Alexander Cunningham in 1834, who started systematic excavations in Sarnath, uncovering many of its priceless treasures. ![]() “Except for the Dhamekh Stupa, much of the site lay in ruins for almost a millennium,” explains our guide. In the 12th century, Sarnath was razed by the Turks. In the seventh century, when the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang visited Sarnath, he found 3,000 monks living here. Sarnath was also called ‘Isipatana’ denoting the place where holy men or devas fell to earth. The king is deeply touched and creates the park as a sanctuary for deer. ![]() It harks back to an old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva takes on the form of a deer and offers his life to a king, instead of the doe he is planning to kill. ![]() Sarnath, derived from Saranganath, means ‘Lord of the Deer’. ![]()
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