Part 11 - Main Shrine of Sārnāth

to the north west of the Dhamekstupa, some 20 yards north to the Dharmarājika stūpa stands the main shrine. It is an east facing, square temple of about 18 feet height, surrounded by a concrete pavement of 40 feet length in each side. Mr. F.O. Oertel was the first to make a vivid study vivid study of the shrine in 1905. It was found in a rather ruined condition. It is a large shrine mainly made of bricks, plasters and carved stones of earlier structure. The shrine or its portions were built and rebuilt several times from the time of the Mauryas and to the medieval times. Earlier a date of 11^th century was assigned to it, but from its construction and materials it is obvious that it was originally constructed much earlier. In the western portion of the shrine excavation revealed a short inscription of the Gupta characters and several seals discovered in the east of the stupa bore the legend of “Gandhakuṭi” of the Exalted One in the monastery of the wheel of the good law. The monastic site is hence also known as the Mulagandhakuṭi vihāra. The well preserved mouldings and thick walls, probably to hold a massive roof match with Hiuen Tsang’s description and the identification of this vihāra as the chief among the monasteries does not seem farfetched. The roof under discussion later became weak, hence a thick wall, now can be seen running three sides of the interior was built for an additional support to the roof.

The date of its construction cannot be fixed but the large rectangular platform at the back of the shrine which held the image was built in the same period. The north and the west chapels also showed similar brick platform though the where once the Buddha images stood, now lost. In the south chapel however a headless standing Buddha of the Gupta style can be found. Mr. Oertel made a significant discovery in course of his excavation when he cut through the floor of the south chapel. It revealed an important Aśokan relic namely a monolithic square railing of the typical Mauryan style encircling a comparatively unimportant brick stupa. The railing was carved out in a single block of Chunar sandstone. It has the high polish and craftsmanship typical of Aśoka’s period. The railing is not in its original position owing to the fact that the whole shrine is rather in a very dilapidated condition suggesting that it had undergone a lot of ravages. It perhaps formed the crowning harmikā of the Dharmarājika stūpa. Why was this railing erected could not be determined. The railing contains two dedicatory inscriptions. One of them is a homage of the masters of the Sarvastivādins(Ᾱcā[rya]namsarvastivādinam.parigahetānam).

It has been suggested by Dr. Sten Konow that that the the beginning of the inscription was engraved in the 3^rd- 4^th centuries CE and the end portion is at least four centuries older than it, i.e. beginning of the Christian era. He has even suggested that the beginning was erased and redone. The second inscription reads “Ᾱcāryanamsarvāstivādinamparigrāhe”, i.e. Homage to the teachers of the Sarvāstivādin sect. It appears that the Sarvāstivādin sect erased the name of some other Buddhist sect and substituted it with their own name to project themselves as the donor or preeminent sect of Sārnāth.^[1]

The concrete floor around the main shrine extended forty feet in each direction and undergone various changes at times. Beyond this pavement the east side has a long entrance way and was probably a part of extensive open court (aṅgana) added to the main shrine in the medieval period. One structure in this portion that deserves mention is a large rectangular court situated in front of the main entrance. The level of its floor is lower than the main temple. It was found covered by the terraced floor encircling the main shrine. It was probably a lecture hall and had a solid brick platform attached to the brick wall. It was probably meant for the position of the teacher during a congregation. It has yielded valuable sculptures including inscriptions of Kumāragupta and Budhagupta. The open court around the main shrine was enclosed by a brick wall on the north, south and east sides. The open court also reveals a well built drain which carried away rain water. It was made of brick bats and covered by hammer dressed slabs. Outside the court a brick-lined reservoir or kunda. This was probably used by monks and nuns to clean their hands and feet before entering the shrine, mainly during Uposatha or New Moon and Full Moon or Purnima ceremonies when they assembled for their confessions. The east wall had a double stair case with stone slabs of different periods, by which the main shrine is approached. Inside the court there are numerous stūpas of different times. The earliest of them numbered 136, belonging to the Gupta period was a complete brick structure.

Most other structures of this compound were medieval and built after completion of some vows. The chapel in the south east is contemporaneous with Dharmacakrajina vihāra. It is built in usual Northern Indian style with a tapering spire, small square cella and smaller portico. The numerous structures scattered on each side are memorials of visitor’s homage to the Lord as per their ability.

A few yards to the west of the Main Shrine the capital and some fragments of the shaft of the Aśoka pillar was discovered by Mr. Oertel in 1904-05. Like the Aśokan railing this was also made out of a single block of Chunar sandstone. The shaft held the famous Sārnāth lion capital of Aśoka. The brilliant polish of the whole structure makes it look like marble. Seven and a half feet of the pillar was unpolished and buried underground. Upper limit of this buried portion marks the ground level of the concrete floor around the Main Shrine. Excavation conducted here exposed successive layers of floor built one above the other. This portion was much decayed and had to be repaired with old bricks of the site.^[2] A more important aspect of the pillar is that it contained three epigraphs.

The earliest and the most important one was engraved by Aśoka. It contained eleven lines and warns the monks and nuns not to create a schism against the order of Sārnāth. Else they would be ostracised from the order and had to stay in a non-residence area. He ordered to keep a copy of this in the church and to make another copy available to the lay devotees. He set guidelines for the essential duties of the lay devotees and wanted his religious officers or Mahāmātras to be present there to supervise and inspire the lay Buddhists. He wanted his message to disseminate far and wide through the church.

The second one is a Kuṣāṇa inscription laid out in the first fortnight of winter of the fortieth regnal year of Aśvaghoṣa. The content of the inscription is not known because the letters are intentionally erased.

The third and the last among the inscriptions belonged to the Gupta era. It reads “Ᾱ[cā]ryyaṇam Sa[mmi]tiyānamparigraha Vātsputrikānam” that means homage to the masters of the Sammitiya sect and Vātsiputrika sect. Presence of these edicts sufficiently proves the kind of royal patronage and attention the church and Buddhist order at Sārnāth enjoyed. Three of the most important imperial powers that ruled over northern India showed much interest to the affairs of the church and affiliation to some sects. That ensured maintenance, supervision and other fiscal needs of the church.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ibid, p.30

[2]:

Daya Ram Sahni, op. cit., pp. 24-25.