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Sarnath Archaeological Site

Ishipatana

India · Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi

Temple / ritual siteIntermittent excavationUNESCO · 2026
Approximate period300 BCE — 1,200 CEFrom the Maurya period to the Middle Ages See on the map ↓

In brief

Excavations at Sarnath have revealed stupas, monasteries and sculptures dating from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD. The four-lion pillar capital found here served as the model for India's state emblem.

What was found?

  • 1Aşoka’s four-lion capital

    Below the four lions standing back to back are reliefs of animals and wheels. This important work of Maurya art served as the model for independent India’s state emblem.

  • 2Dharmachakra

    The Dharma wheel crowning the lion capital was a symbol of Buddhist teaching. It allows the column’s architecture and religious meaning to be considered together.

  • 3Buddhist monastery remains

    Excavations uncovered monasteries, stupas and temples. These show that the site was a religious center used over a long period.

  • 4Statue of Buda teaching

    The seated Buda makes the gesture of turning the Dharma wheel with his hands; a wheel, deer and listeners appear on the pedestal. The statue transforms the first sermon associated with Sarnath into a visual narrative.

What does it point to?

The monuments and statues point to a center where Buddhist teaching was made visible through architecture and imagery. The Aşoka column documents royal support, while the monastery remains document organized religious life.

What did it teach us?

  1. Excavations uncovered Buddhist structures and artifacts dating from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD.
  2. They showed that symbols such as the Dharma wheel were used both on monumental columns and in statues of Buda.
  3. They brought to light the archaeological model for modern India’s state emblem.

Images

Sarnath Archaeological Site 6
Rangan Datta Wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Maurya, Kushan, Gupta and later Buddhist communities
First modern dig
1798
Team / historical
Archaeological Survey of India, Sarnath Circle
Coordinates
25.3809°, 83.0245°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. asisarnathcircle.in
  3. asisarnathcircle.in
  4. Archaeological Survey of India — Lion Capital
  5. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts — Sarnath Müzesi anlatımı

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12.000

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