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| Mula Gandhakuti Vihara Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Anagarika Dharmapala Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
Anagarika Dharmapala
Founder of Maha Bodhi Society and Great Buddhist Revivalist in India and west.Anagarika Dharmapala (The Guardian of Law) born to an aristocratic Buddhist family in Sri Lanka on 17.09.1864, visited Sarnath on pilgrimage in 1891. Seeing the deplorable and appalling condition of Sarnath and Buddha Gaya, he resolved to restore all places of Buddhist worship and regenerate Buddhism in India, the land of its birth. For this purpose he established the Maha Bodhi Society of India on May 31, 1891. He traveled all over the world to stress upon his great mission and received support and patronage of national leaders of India and emperors and kings of Buddhist countries for the revival of Buddhism in India after 800 years and to propagate as well as to restore sacred places of Buddhist interest and construction of temples and monasteries. In 1893 he participated in the world parliament of religions in Chicago, and from there he introduced Buddhism to the west. In response to requests made by the then British rulers he constructed Sri Dharmarajika Chetiya Vihara in Calcutta (1923) and the Mulagandha Kuty Vihara (1931) at Sarnath in the very site where the Sakyamuni Buddha preached his first sermon, to enshrine the sacred relics of the Buddha which were discovered during excavations from different parts of India. During 40 years of his noble mission in India, the Anagarika established centers of the Maha Bodhi Society in India and abroad to carry out social welfare activities and to propagate Buddhism beyond the geographical boundaries of India. He made Sarnath a tiny city glittering with yellow robes and took it back to its ancient glory. This great Buddhist revivalist entered the Sangha order in 1931 by the name Siri Devamitta Dhammapala and passed away in Sarnath, the birthplace of Buddhism. On 29.04.1933, his last wish was to re-born in India 25 times to serve the cause of Buddhism. This greatest leader of Buddhism in modern times, considered as a true “Bodhisattva,” and the grateful Buddhist world will treasure his memory, ranking him with great Buddhist missionaries like Dharmasoka, Maha Mahinda, and other notable figures in the history of Buddhism.
The Anagarika Dharmapala made Buddhism a living faith.
“May he attain Nibbana”
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| Buddha statue Mula Gandhakuti Vihara Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Anagarika Dharmapala Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Dharmmega Stupa Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
Sarnath
Sarnath is one amongst the four holy places associated with the life of Lord Buddha. This is the place where Buddha, after attaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya, preached his first sermon to his five erstwhile companions. This event in Buddhist literatures is known as Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana or The Turning of the wheel of Law, Foundation of the very first Buddhist Sangha was also laid over here by Lord Buddha himself. In Buddhist texts, the place is recorded as Rishipatana or Issipatana and Mrigadava or Mrigadaya though its modern name seems to be a contraction of Saranganath (Lord of Deers), Still Born by the Mahadeva enshrined in a temple nearby. The place is held equally holy by the Jainas, as being the venue of the austerities and the death of Sreyansanatha, the eleventh Tirthankara. The archaeological importance of the site was first brought to light by Mr. Duncan and Col.E Mackenzie during 1798 A.D which was followed by a series of excavations by Alexander Cunningham (1835-36), major Kittoe (1851-52), Mr. F.O. Oertel (1904-05), Sir John Marshall (1907), M.H. Hargreaves (1914-15) and lastly by Dayaram Sahani. These excavations have unearthed a number of monasteries, stupas, temples, inscriptions sculptures and other antiquities dating from third century B.C. to twelfth century A.D. noteworthy among them are Chaukhandi Stupa, Dharmrajika Stupa, Dhamekh Stupa, Mulgandha Kuti, An Asokan Pillar and the Lion Capital , Dharma-Chakra, Jin-Vihara, other monasteries, cluster of votive stupas and a large number of sculptures. The archaeological survey of India has maintained a site museum close by, which houses the sculptures, inscriptions and other objects of interest, recovered from the excavations. |
| Ashoka Pillar Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
Ashoka Pillar
These are the fragments of a 15.25 meter high monolithic pillar erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (272-232 B.C.) made of Chunar sand stone. These bear the typical Mauryan polish. The cylindrical shaft is slightly tapering with a diameter of 0.71 meter at the base and 0.56 meter at the top. It was once surmounted by the famous four addorsed lions. Capital which is an excellent example of the Mauryan-art (Now the National Emblem of the Govt. of India) and displayed in the local site museum. The pillar bears three inscriptions. The earliest one is an edict of Ashoka. In the Mauryan Brahmi script in which, the king warns the monks and nuns against creating schism in the sangha. Next mention the fortieth year of the Kushana king Asvaghosha of Kaushambi and the third is in early Gupta Brahmi script refers to the teachers of the sammitiya sect and the Vastiputrak School. |
| Archaeological Museum Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Thai Sarnath Temple Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Buddha statue Thai Sarnath Temple Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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