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500BCc. 5th century BC · Sarnath

The Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath

The brick Dhamek Stupa rising beyond the lawns of the deer park at Sarnath
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha walked to the deer park at Sarnath, outside Varanasi, and preached his first sermon to five former companions, 'setting the wheel of the Dharma in motion' and founding the monastic community. The emperor Ashoka later raised a pillar here whose lion capital is now India's national emblem. Sarnath is one of Buddhism's four great pilgrimage places.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Dhamek Stupa and the deer parkMassive brick and carved-stone stupa over the traditional sermon site, among monastery ruins.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Sarnath Archaeological MuseumAshoka's four-lion capital and Gupta-period seated Buddha sculpture.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Chaukhandi StupaBrick stupa where the Buddha is said to have met his five companions.Map ↗

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