The ancient Buddhist temple of Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was included in the World Heritage List at the 48th meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea. With this recognition, Sarnath becomes India’s 45th World Heritage Site.
Lord Buddha first visited Sarnath after converting to Buddhism in the sixth century BC. It was here that the lion-headed pillar of Emperor Ashoka was discovered in 1905, which later became India’s national symbol. Sarnath is one of the four major pilgrimage sites of Buddhism. The other three pilgrimage sites are Bodhgaya and Kushinagar in India, as well as Lumbini in Nepal. Among them, Bodhgaya and Lumbini were already in the list of world heritage sites.
In a statement, UNESCO said that Sarnath is where Lord Buddha met his first disciples and gave his first sermon. This event is considered to be the beginning of the spread of Buddhist teachings. Today, this tradition survives in two preserved archaeological sites. Chowkhandi Stupa and the archaeological remains of Sarnath, including Dhamek Stupa and Dharmarajika Stupa. Together, these monuments form a historical structure, commonly known as Deer Park. According to Buddhist tradition, the place is also known as Rishipatana, Ichipatana and Mrigadava and these names have been preserved in the scriptures through various historical accounts and legends.
