Editing Sarnath (section)

===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}}