15
Aug

Sarnath  

Posted by Shamala Krishnan in , , , , , , ,

  1. Sarnth


    Sarnath is about 1o kms distance from the holy city of varanasi.








    Lord Buddha came to sarnath after he attained enlightment in Bodh Gaya. He delievered his first sermon in relgious language, in the deer park here. He set in motion, the wheel of Law {Maha Dhrmachakra Pravarthan}.. On the day before his death Lord Buddha included Sarnath along with Lumbini, Bodh gaya and Kushinagar as four sacred places for his followers.


    Emperor Ashoka spread Lord Buddha's message of Love and Compassion, through out his vast empire. He visited sarnath around 234 BC, and errected a stupa here. Several Buddhist structures were raised between 3rd century BC and 11th century AD. The museum, temple and ruins are all in walkable distance.


  2. Dhamek stupa






    The most remarkable structure at sarnath is the cylindrical Dhamek sthupa, 28 meters in diameter at the base and the height is 43.6 meters. It is built partly of stone and partly of brick


    The stone facing the lower part is adorned with delicate floral carving of gupta origin.


  3. Mulagandha Kuti vihar.



    The ancient Mulagandha Kuti temple is amoung the brick ruins of Sarnath. This modern temple is erected by the Mahabodhi Society.







    It has excelent frescoes made by Kosetsu Nosu , Japans foremost painter, and rich repository of buddhist literature.



  4. Sarnath Museum.


    A rich collection of Buddhist sculptures comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisathava images. Considered amoung the finest specimen of Buddhist art are housed at the museum. The museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, and closed on fridays.



  5. Japanese Temple of Lord Buddha






    The other places of interest at Sarnath are Dharmarajika Stupa, the sadharmachakkra vihar's at excavated ruins, and magnificent Lion capital, India's national emblem at Sarnath Museum.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at Saturday, August 15, 2009 and is filed under , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

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