Sarnath

Sarnath is a site near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India, where the Buddha gave his first sermon in the deer park of Isipatana. It became a major monastic centre: Ashoka raised a pillar there whose lion capital is now India's national emblem, and the Dhamek Stupa dates largely from the Gupta period. The monasteries declined after the 12th century, and the site was excavated from the 19th century.