Editing Sarnath (section)

==History==
===5th century BCE – 6th century CE===
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath during the [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|second urbanisation]], {{circa|600– 200&nbsp;BCE}}, from the time of the [[Mahajanapadas]] through the [[Nanda Empire]] and [[Maurya Empire]] periods, in part because of patronage from kings and wealthy merchants based in [[Varanasi]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} 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. 

However, the presence of images of [[Heruka]] and [[Tara (Mahavidya)|Tara]] indicate that [[Vajrayana]] [[Buddhism]] was also practised here. Images of [[Hindu deities]] such as [[Shiva]] and [[Brahma]] were also found at the site, while a [[Jain temple]] was located very close to the [[Dhamek Stupa]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Buddhism further expanded in India during the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] (4th to 6th centuries) period. [[Faxian]] was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled extensively throughout northern India from 400–411 CE. In his description of Sarnath, he mentioned seeing four large towers and two [[Vihāra|viharas]] with monks residing in them.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===6th century – 8th century===
The influence of Buddhism continued to grow during the [[Later Gupta dynasty|Later Gupta]] (6th–8th centuries). When [[Xuanzang]] visited Sarnath around 640 CE, he reported seeing hundreds of small shrines and votive stupas, and a vihara some {{convert|61|m|ft|abbr=off}} in height containing a large statue of the Buddha.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=60-61}} Xuanzang also wrote that "There are about 1500 priests here, who study the [[Hinayana|Little Vehicle]] according to [[Pudgalavada#Saṃmitīya and other sub-schools|the Sammatiya school]].{{sfn|Li|1914|pp=98-100}} In his writings, Xuanzang mentioned a [[Pillars of Ashoka|pillar constructed by Ashoka]] near a stupa that marked the location where the Buddha set [[Dharmachakra|the wheel of the law]] in motion.{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=9}}

===8th century – 12th century===
During the [[Pala Empire|Pala]] (8th–11th centuries) period, the rulers built new ''[[mahavihara]]s'' such as [[Odantapuri]], [[Somapura Mahavihara|Somapura]], [[Jagaddala Mahavihara|Jagaddala]], and [[Vikramashila]] and patronised existing ones such as [[Nalanda]] and Sarnath. During this time, Buddhist pilgrims and monks from all over Asia travelled to Sarnath to meditate and study. The Palas were the last major Buddhist dynasty to rule in the Indian subcontinent. They were replaced by the [[Gahadavala dynasty]], whose capital was located at Varanasi.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Although the Gahadavala kings were Hindu, they were tolerant of Buddhism. Inscriptions unearthed at Sarnath in the early 20th century indicate that some of the monasteries there enjoyed royal patronage from the Gahadavala rulers. For example, in a mid-12th-century inscription attributed to Queen Kumaradevi (consort of [[Govindachandra (Gahadavala dynasty)|King Govindachandra]]) and member of the [[Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya|Pithipati dynasty of Bodh Gaya]]. She takes credit for the construction or restoration of a [[Vihāra|living quarters for monks]].{{sfn|Konow|1908|pp=320, 327-8}} 

It is widely asserted that the structure referred to in the Kumaradevi inscription is the Dharma Chakra Jina Vihar, but the evidence for this is inconclusive. Whatever the case, it is likely to be among the last structures to be built at Sarnath prior to its destruction in 1194.{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=6-8}} The inscription, excavated at Sarnath in March 1908,{{sfn|Konow|1908|p=319}} is currently maintained at the [[Sarnath Museum|Sarnath Archeological Museum]].<ref name="ASI2013">{{cite web|author=Archaeological Survey of India|authorlink=Archaeological Survey of India|title=Accession Number: 33 (Kumaradevi inscription)|work=Archaeological Museum Sarnath|publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] - Sarnath Circle|location=Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh|year=2013|url=http://www.sarnathmuseumasi.org/gallery/Gallery2%20Acc%20No%2033.html|accessdate=2 January 2023|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307230006/http://www.sarnathmuseumasi.org/gallery/Gallery2%20Acc%20No%2033.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Late 12th century: the destruction of Sarnath===
Along with Sarnath, the most important Buddhist ''[[mahavihara]]s'' in India were [[Vikramashila]], [[Odantapuri]], and [[Nalanda]], all located in present-day [[Bihar]]. All four of these centres of learning continued to thrive throughout the 12th century, probably because of the protection, support and tolerance demonstrated by the Pala and Gahadavala rulers. For example, the [[commons:File:Inscription_of_Kumaradevi_the_Queen_of_Gahadawala_king_Govindachandra,_which_refers_the_construction_of_Dharmachkra-Jin-Vihara_at_Sarnath,_12th_century_CE.jpg|Kumaradevi inscription]] mentions that King Govindachandra had protected Varanasi from invasions by the [[Ghaznavids]] which the inscription refers to as Turushkas{{Efn|Turushka is a word for "Muslim Turkish Mercenaries".

Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1980). The Islamic dynasties : a chronological and genealogical handbook. Internet Archive. Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press. pp. 2, 197. ISBN 978-0-85224-402-9. |name=Turushka|group=note}} in the early to mid-12th century.{{sfn|Konow|1908|pp=321, 327}} Apart from [[North India]], Buddhism [[decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent|had been declining]] throughout the Indian subcontinent and had virtually disappeared by the 11th century.{{sfn|Verardi|2011}}

[[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]] in the late 12th century brought massive plunder and destruction to northern India. Most notable among these were the [[Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor]], the [[Ghurid dynasty]] ruler from [[Ghazni]], which is in present-day Afghanistan. [[Qutb ud-Din Aibak]] — the commander of [[Muhammad of Ghor]]'s army — led his men from Ghazni to Varanasi and Sarnath in 1194 CE.<ref>{{harvnb|Habib|1981|p=116}} Quote: "In the winter of A.D. 1194-1195 Shihabuddin once more marched into Hindustan and invaded the Doab. Rai Jai Chand moved forward to meet him and came face to face with Qutbuddin Aibek, who was leading the vanguard of the invading army.... Shihabuddin captured the treasure fort of Asni and then proceeded to Banares, where he converted about a thousand idol-temples into houses for the Musalmans".</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Chandra|2007}} Quote: "In 1194, Muizzuddin returned to India. He crossed the Jamuna with 50,000 cavalry and moved towards Kanauj. A hotly contested battle between Muizzuddin and Jaichandra was fought at Chandawar near Kanauj. We are told that Jaichandra had almost carried the day when he was killed by an arrow, and his army was totally defeated. Muizzuddin now moved on to Banaras which was ravaged, a large number of temples there being destroyed".</ref> [[Jayachandra]] (c. 1170–1194 CE) was the reigning [[Gahadavala dynasty]] king at that time and was killed during the [[Battle of Chandawar]].<ref>{{harvnb|Khan|2008|p=80}} Quote: "Jaichandra was defeated and killed by Muhammad Ghauri at Chanwar (40 kilometers east of Agra) in 1193".</ref> Virtually everything of value in Varanasi and Sarnath was destroyed or plundered. 

Qutbuddin Aibek reportedly carted away some 1400 camel loads of treasure.{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=11}} According to the 13th-century Persian historian [[Hasan Nizami]], "nearly 1000 temples were destroyed and mosques were raised on their foundations, the [[Rai (title)|Rais]] and chiefs of Hind came forward to proffer their allegiance [to the Ghurids]".{{sfn|Niyogi|1959|p=111}}

While Qutbuddin Aibek destroyed Sarnath, it was the troops of [[Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji]]—another of Muhammad of Ghor's slave generals—that continued to destroy sites sacred to Buddhists. They destroyed Vikramashila in 1193, Odantapuri in 1197, and Nalanda in 1200.{{sfn|Meston|1915|p=169}} The Buddhists who survived in northern India fled to [[Nepal]], [[Sikkim]], [[Tibet]],{{sfn|Sanyal|2012|pp=130-1}} or [[South India]]. By the end of the 12th century, Buddhist monastic centers and their vast libraries had nearly disappeared from the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disappearance of Buddhism in India |url=https://www.originalbuddhas.com/blog/disappearance-of-buddhism-in-india?srsltid=AfmBOooHTARObbbnOcPA-P61h2YwtrnJqEQvwgW9JCSpZOXuAUUN2-o- |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Original Buddhas |language=en}}</ref>

However, according to some scholars, fresh re-assesments of evidence from archaeology{{sfn|Verardi|2011}} in addition to historical records{{sfn|Auer|Strauch|2019}} have disputed this view of Muslim invasions as the major cause of the decline of Buddhism in India or the destruction of such Buddhist sites as Sarnath — arguing, instead, "that [[Brahmin|Brahmanical]] hostility toward Buddhists resulted in the destruction of Sarnath and other sites".{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=11}} According to archaeologist [[Giovanni Verardi]]: "Contrary to what is usually believed, the great monasteries of Gangetic India, from Sarnath to Vikramaśīla, from Odantapurī to Nālandā, were not destroyed by the Muslims, but appropriated and transformed by the Brahmans with only the occasional intervention of the Muslim forces".{{sfn|Verardi|2011}} According to Verardi, "orthodox" Brahmins — who had been gaining in power and influence during the [[Gahadavala dynasty|Gahadavala]] and [[Sena dynasty|Sena]] dynasties, the [[Sena-Gahadavala Conflicts|rival]] Hindu-revivalist dynasties of northern/eastern India — "accepted Muslim rule in exchange for the extirpation of Buddhism and the repression of the social sectors in revolt."{{sfn|Verardi|2011}} Archaeologist Federica Barba writes that the Gahadavalas built large [[Hindu temple]]s in traditional Buddhist sites such as Sarnath, and converted Buddhist shrines into Brahmanical ones: Evidence indicates that Buddhists had been expelled from Sarnath during the mid 12th-century, under the Gahadavala rule, and it already was in the process of being converted to a large [[Shaivism|Shiva temple]] compound before Muslim invaders arrived.<ref>{{cite book | last=Barba | first=Federica | chapter=Appendix 2, Sarnath: A Reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence with Particular Reference to the Final Phase of the Site | editor-last=Verardi | editor-first=Giovanni | title=Hardships and Downfall of Buddhism in India | publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors | date=2011 | isbn=978-81-7304-928-6 | url = https://www.academia.edu/112184736/Sarnath_A_Reassessment_of_the_Archaeological_Evidence_with_Particular_Reference_to_the_Final_Phase_of_the_Site}}</ref>{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=11}}

===18th century: rediscovery and looting===
Very few Buddhists remained in India after their [[Persecution of Buddhists#Persecutions by Muslim Empires|persecution and expulsion]] at the end of the 12th century by the Ghurids. Buddhists from Tibet, Burma, and Southeast Asia continued to make pilgrimages to South Asia from the 13th to the 17th centuries, but their most common destination was [[Bodh Gaya]] and not Sarnath.{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=21-22}} Sarnath continued to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains, however. A 17th-century [[Jain literature|Jain manuscript]] written in 1612 CE (the ''[[Vividha Tirtha Kalpa|Tirthakalpa]]'', by Jinaprabha Suri) describes a Jain temple in Varanasi as being located close to "a famous Bodisattva sanctuary" at a place called ''dharmeksā''. This Sanskrit word translates to "pondering of the law", and clearly refers to the Dhamek Stupa.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|p=60}}

India experienced an increase in visitation by European people in the late 18th century. In 1778, [[William Hodges]] became possibly the first British [[Landscape painting|landscape painter]] to visit India.<ref name=Nevile2009>{{cite news|author=Pran Nevile|title=India's past on canvas|newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|publisher=Tribune Trust|location=Chandigarh|date=3 May 2009|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090503/spectrum/main1.htm|access-date=2 January 2023|archive-date=2 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102202450/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090503/spectrum/main1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> While there, he made careful observations of the art and architecture he encountered. He published an illustrated book about his travels in India in 1794. In his book, he described mosques and other Islamic architecture, Hindu temples, and [[Classical order|Greek-inspired columns]].{{sfn|Hodges|1794|pp=59-77}} Hodges also briefly described the [[Dhamek Stupa]], although he mistook it to be a ruined Hindu temple.<ref>{{harvnb|Hodges|1794|p=62}} Quote: "Surrounding the city are many ruins of buildings, the effects of Mahomedan intolerance. One is a large circular edifice, having evidently been a Hindoo temple, or part of one; there are still vestiges of some of the ornaments; and on one part I found the Grecian scroll".</ref>{{sfn|Ray|2014|pp=78-79}}

In what is the first incontrovertible modern reference to the ruins at Sarnath, [[Jonathan Duncan (Governor of Bombay)|Jonathan Duncan]] (a charter member of the [[The Asiatic Society|Asiatic Society]] and later [[List of governors of Bombay Presidency|Governor of Bombay]]) described the discovery of a green marble [[reliquary]] encased in a sandstone box in the relic chamber of a brick stupa at that location. The reliquary was discovered in January 1794, during the dismantling of a stupa (referred to by [[Alexander Cunningham]] as stupa "K" or the "Jagat Singh stupa",{{sfn|Oertel|1908|p=65}} later identified as the Dharmarajika Stupa)<ref name=ASI2014>{{cite web|author=Archaeological Survey of India|authorlink=Archaeological Survey of India|title=Dhamek Stupa|work=Our Monuments|publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] - Sarnath Circle|location=Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh|year=2014|url=https://www.asisarnathcircle.org/dhamek-stupa.php|accessdate=1 January 2023|archive-date=17 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217172501/https://www.asisarnathcircle.org/dhamek-stupa.php|url-status=live}}</ref> by employees of [[Zamindar]] Jagat Singh (the [[dewan]] of [[Maharaja Chait Singh]], the [[Narayan dynasty|Raja of Benares]]).{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=61-62}} Duncan published his observations in 1799.{{sfn|Duncan|1799|pp=131-133}}{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|pp=118-119}}{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=22}} 

The reliquary contained a few bones and some pearls, which were subsequently thrown into the [[Ganges|Ganges river]].{{sfn|Sahni|1917|pp=17–20}} The reliquary itself has also disappeared, although the outer sandstone box was replaced in the relic chamber, where it was rediscovered by Cunningham in 1835.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=61-62}} The bricks of the stupa were hauled off and used for the construction of the market in [[Jagatganj]], Varanasi.{{sfn|Sherring|1868|p=26}} Jagat Singh and his crew also removed a large part of the facing of the Dhamek Stupa, and removed several Buddha statues which he retained at his house in Jagatganj.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=62-64}}

===19th century: more looting and early archeological excavations===
The next modern description of Sarnath was by [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], who visited the site around 1813. He drew a crude map of the site—which he called Buddha Kashi—at that time.{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=12-13}} [[Colin Mackenzie]] was an officer in the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] who later became the first [[Surveyor General of India]]. Visiting Sarnath in 1815, he was the first to describe a dedicated exploration of the ruins.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=61-62}} Throughout the early 19th century, amateur archeologists explored and excavated at Sarnath, removing antiquities, and several artists drew sketches of the site (especially of the Dhamek Stupa).{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=14-15}}

In 1835–1836, a 21-year-old British Army engineer with the [[Bengal Engineer Group]] named [[Alexander Cunningham]] conducted the first systematic archaeological excavations at Sarnath.{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=23}} He had carefully studied the writings of [[Faxian]] and [[Xuanzang]], two Chinese Buddhist monks who travelled extensively throughout northern India in the early 5th and early 7th centuries, respectively. Based on their writings and those of Duncan, he conducted some careful measurements and excavations at Sarnath in 1835–1836. During the course of these excavations, Cunningham discovered and removed many statues from monastery "L" and temple "M", as well as the sandstone box reported by Duncan from the Dharmarajika Stupa. He presented these items to the [[The Asiatic Society|Asiatic Society of Bengal]], and they are now located in the [[Indian Museum, Kolkata|Indian Museum in Kolkata]].{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=61-62}} By 1836, Cunningham had conclusively identified Sarnath as the location of [[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta|the Buddha's first sermon]].{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|pp=103-130}}{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=12}} In 1861, Cunningham became the founder and first Director-General of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].

In 1851–1852, Markham Kittoe (1808–1853) conducted further excavations at Sarnath. Kittoe noted the presence of four stupas at Sarnath and excavated a structure he described as a hospital, which was located roughly midway between the Dhamek and Jagat Singh stupas.{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=27-28}} He also recovered a seated Buddha statue from Jagat Singh's house and transcribed its inscription.{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=24}} In his writings, Kittoe speculated that Sarnath was destroyed as a result of a great fire.{{sfn|Asher|2020|p=27}}

Sometime in the mid-19th century, Sarnath was subjected to further depredations, as 48 statues and a tremendous amount of bricks and stones were removed from the historic site to be used in the construction of two bridges over the [[Varuna River]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sherring|1868|p=25}} Quote: "...in the erection of the bridges over the river Barna, forty-eight statues and other sculptured stones were removed from Sarnath and thrown into the river, to serve as a breakwater to the piers; and that, in the erection of the second bridge, the iron one, from fifty to sixty cart-loads of stones from the Sarnath buildings were employed".</ref> A final instance of despoilation occurred around 1898, when many bricks and stones were removed from Sarnath and used as ballast for a narrow-gauge railway that was under construction at that time.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|p=64}}

===20th century: extensive excavations and restoration===
[[File:Plan of excavation Sarnath.jpg|thumb|left|[[F. O. Oertel|Friedrich Oertel]]'s plan of excavation. The [[Lion Capital of Ashoka|lion capital]] was found in 1905 to the west of the main shrine, which is to the north of the "Jagat Singh" stupa.]]
[[F. O. Oertel|Friedrich Oertel]] conducted extensive excavations in 1904-1905. His team focused on the area near stupa "J" (the [[Dhamek Stupa]]), stupa "K" ("Jagat Singh stupa", now known as the Dharmarajika Stupa), monastery "L", temple "M", hospital "N", monastery "O", and the [[Pillars of Ashoka|Ashokan pillar]]. In March 1905, the team exhumed parts of the base and shaft of the pillar with its [[:Commons:Category:Schism Edict of Ashoka|Schism]] [[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict]], [[Lion Capital of Ashoka|lion capital]], and remnants of the ''[[dharmachakra]]'' sculpture.{{sfn|Oertel|1908|pp=68-70}} Dating to c. 241-233 BCE,{{sfn|Phuoc|2010|p=38}} these are the oldest and most important relics discovered at Sarnath thus far.{{sfn|Sahni|1914|p=2}} [[J. Ph. Vogel]] translated the inscription—which was written in the [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] of the [[Maurya Empire|Maurya period]]-and tentatively dated it to 249 BCE.{{sfn|Vogel|1906|pp=166-167}}