Sarnath

From Monday November 8

After exiting the Ganges, we wound our way through the stacked cordage of neatly stacked wood fuel piles into the narrow streets of this oldest part of Varanasi. Our goal was the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, also known as the Golden Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The streets we traversed were among the narrowest and dirtiest I have experienced. The walk was spiced by the thrill of passing machine gun toting guards permanently posted near the temple to prevent trouble. It seems that there is also an important mosque in the vicinity of the temple and terrorism is a constant threat. Imagine that. We got about 60 yards from the temple when our guide informed us that because Monday is the special day for Lord Shiva, there was a considerable queue waiting to get in and that the wait would be as much as an hour or hour and a half. We all voted to forego the temple and head to our next destination.

We exited the dark streets into brilliant sunlight and piled into our SUVs for the 13 kilometer, hour long drive to Sarnath, where legend claims that Buddha gave his first speech or sermon after attaining enlightenment in the town of Bodh Gaya, some 135 miles away. Sarnath is, therefore, one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. Our Frommer's guide warned us that we may find it nothing more than a boring pile of bricks. They pretty much nailed it. There is a Buddhist temple next to the archeological site, with a Bhodi tree reputed to be from a cutting made from a cutting of the actual Bhodi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree, or the idea of its ancient origins is interesting, but the temple seemed a little bit commercial and did not give the type of spiritual connection I have often experienced in some Buddhist Temples.

The archeological site itself is kept remarkably neat and tidy and is comprised of an extensive field of grass with excavated foundations of stupas and other structures associated with a temple and monastery that had occupied this area from about the 3rd century BC. The prominent green garbage can in the foreground most probably dates from the last century.  The Sarnath Archeological Museum is associated with the site and is interesting if you are really into archeology. No photography allowed.

The most impressive structure on the site is the Dhamekh Stupa built in the very spot where the Buddha delivered his sermon. It dates from around 500 AD, fully a millennium after the sermon was spoken. But all-in-all Sarnath was an uninspiring experience. There were not a lot of pilgrims. I wonder if this is because Buddhism never caught on in India, or, if it did, died out early on. The religion really developed in nearby lands where it was exported. This parallel with Christianity fascinates me.

We left Sarnath for a most interesting drive back to Varanasi, where we had lunch at the Brownie Restaurant.  How it got a name like that is anybody's guess but the food was the first we have had with any reason to complain about. The baked chicken was tough, the yellow dhal bland and watery with a passable chicken curry. I thought it was the worst meal yet but many of the people on the tour liked the food was better than any we other we had, my guess is because it was so lightly spiced. Anyway, my recommendation - the next time you're in Varanasi, don't look up Brownie. I did mention the interesting trip back from Sarnath. Click here to go to Flickr for pictures of the street scenes and other pictures of Sarnath.