Sarnath - Where Buddha gave his first Sermon

It was the last day of my 3 days trip to Varanasi, I had my train back home in the evening. Though it was quite a sunny day still I decided to visit Sarnath to soak into the peaceful and serene aura of Buddhism. Sarnath is located just 12 kms from the holy city of Varanasi. The deer park in Sarnath is where Buddha first taught dharma after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. Sarnath is also one of the four most sacred sites for Buddhists which Buddha himself sanctioned for pilgrimage.

 The Dhamek stupa.

The Dhamek Stupa.

Sarnath has previously been known as Mrigadawa "deer park" or Ishipatna means the place where holy men fell to earth. The currrent name Sarnath means "Lord of the deers".
Dhamek Stupa which is the main point of attraction at Sarnath was constructed by the great Mauryan King Ashoka. The stupa is cylindrical in shape and 34 meter in height and 28.3 meter in diameter.

Dhamek stupa.

The lower portion of the Stupa is covered completely with beautifully carved stones. The borders of Dhamekh Stupa have delicately carved geometrical and floral designs and figures of humans and birds. The base of the Stupa is made of stone with the upper areas of brickwork which probably once had a carved stone fencing. It is believed that Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at the Dhamekh Stupa.

Carvings on the Dhamek stupa.

Excavated Structures around the stupa.

Dhamek stupa and the excavated area.

How to reach Sarnath ?

Sarnath is located just 12 kms from the main city of Varanasi. Autorickshaws and other public transport are easily available from Cant station. So the place is easily accessible from any part of the city.

Some Interesting Conversations With People Of Varanasi

To satisfy my unending quest I never miss a chance to interact with the local people while travelling around. As I strongly believe one can know the place in the best possible manner only by interacting with the locals. And there are several other advantages of having conversation with locals like, you can hear some great stories, some interesting, some inspiring, some funny and at the end it makes you feel more confident and sometimes you can end up being good friends.

A conversation with baba Somnath.

A potrait of Baba Somnath.

It was little after dusk I was walking back towards Assi Ghat when I saw him sitting on the steps of the ghats busy crushing weed for his evening dose. Quite attracted by his appearance with his permission I clicked a few potraits of him and had a little conversation with him. Baba Somnath belongs to Bashirhat area of West bengal and choosed the ascetic way of living when he was 24.
I was quite surprised when he started revealing his past life which he left behind before becoming a sage. His real name was Soumendra Nandan Bhattacharya and he came from a top class family from West Bengal with relatives like B.C.Roy. He has completed his Masters in hindi sahitya and was very much capable to speak on every possible topic like politics and current affairs.

When I asked "Baba why did you choose to live like this"?
His answer was "I don't understand the concept of being selfish, and I seriously did not liked the selfish world and if I had lived for sometime more in your world I would have also become selfish. And why should I cry for a handful of rice."
An Inspiring conversation...

Somnath Baba crushing his evening weed.

Vishal Posing for a Potrait.

Vishal, who comes from Chandigarh is a Sanskrit student and has just passed his ISC examinations.
When asked about his subject, he said "while the whole world is busy and running towards modernisation I want to turn back the pages of our culture and study about the root of all languages Sanskrit". The ganga Arti was about to start and I had a small conversation with Vishal while enjoying the serenity of the Ganga arti on the ghats.

Baba ram posing for a potrait.

Baba Ram was the most jovial baba I ever met. Baba has recently been part of  some bollywood movies which have been filmed on the ghats of Varanasi. Baba has also covered the holy Amarnath yatra twice but this year he could not go for it because of some paper work issues. I met him twice and he always had some very interesting and funny stories to share, he was always ready to pose for a photograph. After a refreshing conversation we had our evening tea together.

Showcasing some actng skills

Potrait of a sadhu