The Buddhist Monasteries of Sarnath near Varanasi

The main heritage site at Sarnath houses the monasteries and the famous Dhamek Stupa and the Ashoka Pillar which was originally surmounted by the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the national emblem of our country India.
The site has the excavated remains of the monasteries where centuries ago scholars from the Sammatiya and Vajrayana school of buddhism lived and studied and taught. The sight is awe-inspiring to say the least.The site was attacked by turkish muslims at the end of the 12th century and plundered and destroyed.

A little further is the four small fragments of the original column of Emperor Ashoka which was surmounted by the Lion Capital which miraculously remained unbroken after the fall and was rightly chosen as the national emblem of India. The column was destroyed during the plunderings attacks of Qutb-ud-din in 1194. The lion capital is now kept in the musuem at Sarnath. The original column was build around 3rd century BC and was made of chunar sanstone that bear the typical shiny Mauryan polish.

The Lion Capital is now safe at the archaelogical musueum next door.The entire area is dotted with huge trees and it's a pleasure to simply lie down under the shade of one of the trees and wonder about the lives of the men who lived here!!