Sarnath

Sarnath (also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sarnath is where, circa 528 BCE, at 35 years of age, Gautama Buddha taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is also where the Buddhist sangha first came into existence as a result of the enlightenment of his first five disciples (Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama). According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (Sutta 16 of the Digha Nikaya), the Buddha mentioned Sarnath as one of the his devout followers should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence. The other three sites are Lumbini (the birthplace of the Buddha), Bodh Gaya (where the Buddha achieved enlightenment), and Kushinagar (where the Buddha attained parinirvana). The name Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit word (or Sārangnāth in the Pali language), which translates to "Lord of the Deer" in the English language. The name refers to an ancient Buddhist legend, in which the Bodhisattva was a deer and offered his life to a king instead of the doe the king was planning to kill. The king was so moved that he created the park as a deer sanctuary. The term for "deer park" is in Sanskrit, or Miga-dāya in the Pali language. Isipatana is another name used to refer to Sarnath in Pali, the language of the Pali Canon. This name corresponds to the name in the Sanskrit language. The terms isi (Pali) and (Sanskrit) refer to an accomplished and enlightened person. Isipatana and therefore translate to "the place where holy men descended", or "the hill of the fallen sages". Buddhism flourished in Sarnath during the second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE, from the time of the Mahajanapadas through the Nanda and Maurya periods), in part because of patronage from kings and wealthy merchants based in Varanasi. By the 3rd century CE, Sarnath had become an important centre for the Sammatiya school of Buddhism (one of the early Buddhist schools), as well as for art and architecture.