Sarnath

Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"

Meaning

Sarnath is an ancient Buddhist site near Varanasi (Banaras) in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Here, at the Deer Park, the Buddha gave his first sermon after his enlightenment. This act is called the "first turning of the wheel of dharma" [3][7].

It matters because Buddhism as a taught religion began here. Sarnath also gave modern India two national symbols: Ashoka's lion capital, which became the National Emblem, and the dharmachakra (wheel of dharma), which is on the national flag [3][8].

Explanation

Background: why the Buddha went to Sarnath

• After his enlightenment, the Buddha looked for people to share his teaching with.
• He went to the Deer Park at Sarnath, outside Varanasi. There he met his five former companions in penance [3][7].
• These five men had earlier practised hard penance with him.

• They left him when he gave up that path.

• Sarnath was an old place of holy men. Buddhist texts call it Isipatana (Sanskrit Rishipatana, "place where sages gathered"). The Deer Park is called Mrigadava.

The first sermon: what was taught

• The sermon is called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the "Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of the Law" [3].
• It set out the core of the teaching:
• The middle way (madhyamika): a path of moderation between harsh penance and self-indulgence. The Buddha had tried both and rejected them [2][5].
• The Four Noble Truths: (1) dukkha (dissatisfaction in the changing world) is real; (2) it comes from tanha (craving or desire); (3) it can be stopped; (4) the way to stop it is the Eightfold Path [4][6].

• The Eightfold Path, which first appears in this sermon [5]. Its eight steps are right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

• The five listeners became the Buddha's first disciples. By tradition, this is the start of the sangha (the community of Buddhist monks).

The wheel as a symbol

• Dharmachakra means "wheel of dharma". It stands for the teaching that the Buddha "set in motion" at Sarnath [3].
• The symbol later appeared on Ashoka's pillars and on the Indian national flag [3][8].

Later history: from sermon site to monument complex

• Mauryan period (3rd century BCE): Ashoka set up a polished sandstone pillar here. On top of it was the famous lion capital:
• It shows four lions sitting back to back.
• Below them is a round base (abacus) carved with wheels and four animals: an elephant, a bull, a horse and a lion.

• The pillar also carries an Ashokan edict that warns monks and nuns against splitting the sangha.

• Stupas and monasteries: Sarnath became the site of early stupas (dome-shaped mounds over relics). These include the Dharmarajika stupa, traditionally linked to Ashoka, and the later Dhamek stupa. Monasteries also grew up around them.

• Sarnath became one of the four great Buddhist pilgrimage places, each linked to a key event in the Buddha's life:

Event	Place
Birth	Lumbini
Enlightenment	Bodh Gaya
First sermon	Sarnath
Death (mahaparinibbana)	Kushinagar

• Modern India: On 26 January 1950, the Sarnath lion capital was adopted as India's National Emblem, with the motto Satyameva Jayate ("Truth alone triumphs"). The wheel from its base sits at the centre of the national flag.

Time, place and evidence

• When: The Buddha's teaching dates to c. 6th–5th century BCE. Exact dates of his life are debated. Ashoka's monuments belong to the Mauryan period (3rd century BCE).
• Where: The Deer Park at Sarnath, just outside Varanasi (Banaras), in the middle Ganga valley, present-day Uttar Pradesh [3][7].
• Key people: the Buddha; his five former companions, who became his first disciples; and Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor and patron of the pillar and lion capital.
• How we know:
• Buddhist texts: the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta records the first sermon [3]. The Buddha's sermons are collected in the Sutta Pitaka, the "basket of discourses" of the Pali canon [9].
• Inscriptions: the Ashokan pillar edict at Sarnath.
• Archaeology: excavated stupas, monastery remains and the lion capital, which is now kept in the Sarnath site museum.

• Travellers' accounts: the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang, 7th century CE) described Sarnath's monasteries and stupas.

• Heritage status: The UNESCO World Heritage Centre lists the site as the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath, the place of the first sermon [7]. It is on UNESCO's Tentative List, not yet a fully inscribed World Heritage Site.

Don't confuse with

• Bodh Gaya: where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Sarnath is where he first taught that enlightenment.
• Kushinagar: where the Buddha died (mahaparinibbana). It is not linked to the first sermon.
• Sanchi: famous for its Great Stupa and carved gateways (toranas), in Madhya Pradesh. Sarnath is famous for the lion capital and the first sermon, in Uttar Pradesh.
• Rampurva and Lauriya Nandangarh pillars: other Ashokan pillars with single bull or lion capitals. Only the Sarnath capital has four lions back to back and became the National Emblem.

Prelims Hooks

• First sermon = Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, "Turning of the Wheel of the Law", given at the Deer Park, Sarnath, near Varanasi [3][7].
• The audience of the first sermon was the Buddha's five former companions in penance [3][7].
• The Eightfold Path first appears in the first sermon [5]. The Four Noble Truths follow the middle way between sense-indulgence and self-torture [2].
• Sarnath lion capital: Mauryan, made for Ashoka. It has four lions on an abacus showing elephant, bull, horse and lion with wheels in between. It was adopted as the National Emblem on 26 January 1950.
• Dharmachakra: symbol of the first sermon, later on Ashoka's pillars and the Indian national flag [3][8].
• Trap: match event to site. Enlightenment → Bodh Gaya; first sermon → Sarnath; death → Kushinagar; birth → Lumbini.

Mains Points

• Where a teaching became a religion. At Sarnath the Buddha's private insight became a public teaching and gained its first community of followers:
• It set out the middle way, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path [2][4][5].

• Teaching five ordinary ascetics through reason, not miracles, showed the method that later widened Buddhism's social base.

• Royal patronage and Mauryan art. Ashoka's pillar and lion capital show how the state backed and honoured Buddhist sacred sites:

• The polished stone and lifelike animals show the high level of Mauryan court art.

• The pillar's warning against schism shows the ruler taking an interest in the unity of the sangha.

• Continuity into the modern nation. India's founders chose the Sarnath lion capital as the National Emblem and the dharmachakra for the flag [3][8]:

• This tied the new republic to the ideas of ethical rule, dhamma and non-violence.
• It is a strong example of ancient heritage shaping modern national identity, useful in GS-I answers on Indian culture.

Related concepts

• Four Noble Truths
• Dukkha
• Anicca
• Anatta
• Pratityasamutpada
• Middle path
• Eightfold Path
• Nibbana
• Buddha's teachings to laity
• Panchashila of Buddhism

Read more

• The teachings: dhamma and the middle path