Sārnāth — First Turning of the Wheel

📖 Stories

• The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma
  **Sārnāth** (also called Deer Park, Migadaya, Isipatana) is where Buddha delivered his first sermon — the **Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta** ("Setting the Wheel of Dharma in Motion") — to his five original disciples (Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahanama) in 528 BCE. This event, called "The First Turning of the Wheel," established the foundational teachings of Buddhism: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The **Dhamek Stupa** (5th-6th century CE) marks the precise location of the first sermon. The **Ashoka Pillar's Lion Capital** (3rd century BCE) — found at Sarnath in 1905 — depicts four lions back-to-back supporting the dharma wheel; this was adopted as India's national emblem after independence. Chinese pilgrims **Faxian** (5th century) and **Xuanzang** (7th century) both visited and described Sarnath at the height of its glory — Faxian noted four towers and two viharas; Xuanzang described a 200-foot vihara, hundreds of votive stupas, and 1500 priests studying the Sammatiya school. In **1194 CE**, Qutb ud-Din Aibak destroyed Sarnath during the Islamic conquest of Varanasi, carting away 1400 camel loads of treasure. The site was looted further in the 18th-19th centuries. Modern excavation and restoration began with **Alexander Cunningham** in 1835-36, who confirmed the site based on Chinese pilgrim accounts. Today Sarnath is one of **eight principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites** and has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status.
  — Buddhist tradition + Pali Canon + scholarly sources