Editing Sarnath (section)

===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}}