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{{Short description|5th-century Buddha statue from Sarnath, India}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Buddha Preaching his First Sermon'' (Sarnath)}}
{{Infobox artefact
| name = ''Buddha Preaching his First Sermon '' (Sarnath)
| image = Buddha in Sarnath Museum (Dhammajak Mutra).jpg
| image_caption = The Buddha in the [[Sarnath Museum]], in the ''teaching posture''
| image_size = 290px
| material = Sandstone
| size = {{cvt|5|ft|3|in|cm|order=flip}}
| writing =
| created = 5th century CE
| discovered = [[Sarnath]], India
| location = [[Sarnath Museum]], India
| id =
| registration = B(b)181<ref name="DRS70"/>
| map =
{{Location map|India
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|alt =
|relief = yes
|AlternativeMap=
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|label = Sarnath
|label_size =
|position = right
|background =
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|marksize =
|link =
|lat_deg = 25
|lat_min = 22
|lat_sec = 0
|lat_dir = N
|lon_deg = 83
|lon_min = 01
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The '''''Buddha Preaching his First Sermon''''' is a stone sculpture of the 5th-century CE showing [[Gautama Buddha]] in the "[[Mudra#Dharmachakra_Pravartana_mudrā|teaching posture]]" or ''dharmachakra pravartana mudrā''.<ref name=eck-banaras-sarnath-seated-buddha>{{citation|last=Eck|first=Diana L.|author-link=Diana L. Eck|title=Banāras, City of Light|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=1982|isbn= 0-394-51971-X|page=63|quote=In the most famous of these images in the Sarnath museum, the Buddha sits cross-legged, his limbs in the perfect proportions prescribed by the iconometry of the day, his hands in a teaching pose, his eyes downcast, half-shut in meditation, his head backed by a beautifully ornamented circular nimbus}}</ref> The [[relief]] is {{cvt|5|ft|3|in|cm|order=flip}} tall, and was excavated at [[Sarnath]], India by [[F. O. Oertel]] during the 1904–1905 excavation season of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI); it was found in an area to the south of the [[Dhamek Stupa]].<ref name="DRS70"/>

A product of the local [[Gupta_art#Sarnath_school|Sarnath school]] of sculpture, it has been displayed at the [[Sarnath Museum|Archaeological Museum at Sarnath]], the first site museum of the ASI, from the time of the museum's completion in 1910. It is best known for the Buddha images showing the subject, "type considered a hallmark of the Sarnath school of Buddhist art",<ref name=eck-banaras-sarnath-seated-buddha/><ref>[[Pratapaditya Pal|Pal, Pratapaditya]], ''Light of Asia : Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian art'', p. 109 (quoted), 1984, [[LACMA]], [https://archive.org/details/lightofasiabuddh0000unse/page/6/mode/2up Internet archive]. Pal is discussing a similar sculpture in [[Kolkata]], that he describes as "not as well known as the famous fifth-century image preserved in the Sarnath museum..."</ref> and is described by Denise Leidy as "justifiably one of the most famous representations of the Buddha in Asian art",<ref>Leidy, Denise Patry, ''The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning'', p. 50, 2009, Shambhala Publications, ISBN 9781590306703</ref> and by Robert E. Fisher as "the most famous Gupta [Buddha] image".<ref>Fisher, 55</ref>

==Description==
The sculpture depicts the Buddha giving the famous "[[Sermon in the Deer Park]]" at Sarnath, where the Buddha initiated his teachings, which are recorded on the Pali ''[[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta]]''. In this sculpture, the Buddha is seated in the ''[[padmāsana]]'' posture (or "lotus position"),<ref>Huntington, p. 89</ref><ref name="US534">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 |page=534 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA534 |language=en}}</ref> with his hands in the ''[[Mudra#Dharmachakra_Pravartana_Mudrā|dharmachakra pravartana mudra]]'', literally the ''mudra'' of "turning the wheel of [[dharma]]", by means of teaching.<ref>Huntington, 89</ref><ref name="US534"/> He is delivering the first sermon to the five disciples shown, at a much smaller scale, below, with the ''[[dharmachakra]]'' in the centre.<ref name="US534"/> The wheel is flanked by [[couchant]] deer, symbolizing the deer park (Mrigadava) at Sarnath, where the event took place.<ref name="DRS70"/><ref>Huntington, p. 89</ref>

The five disciples were [[Kaundinya]], [[Assaji]], Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama, all of them [[Brahmin]]s who had known Siddharth in the past. They are known as the ''Pañca bhadravaggiyā'' monks.<ref name="DRS70">{{cite book |last1=Sahni |first1=Daya Ram |title=Catalogue of the Museum of Archaeology at Sarnath |date=1914 |publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing |location=Calcutta |pages=Sculpture B(b) 181, pages 70-71 |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/rarebooks/catalogue-museum-archaeology-sarnath |language=en}}</ref> In addition to the five, there is a kneeling woman and a child. The throne has mythical beasts, a [[makara]] and a [[vyala]] (shardula), on each side, as required by convention. On both sides of the circular ornate [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]], there is a flying [[Deva (Buddhism)|deva]] bearing a tray of flowers.<ref name="DRS70"/>

Sarnath is intimately connected to the ''dharmachakra'', a wheel symbol in Buddhism. The [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] originally supported a large ''dharmachakra'' (thus the lions served as the support for the ''dharmachakra''). During the excavations, the broken stone ''dharmachakra'' was found.<ref>Huntington, pp. 89-91</ref>

The Dharmachakra Jina Vihar is another example of the importance of the ''dharmachakra'' at Sarnath. In a mid-12th-century inscription attributed to Queen Kumaradevi (consort of [[Govindachandra (Gahadavala dynasty)|Govindachandra]]), she takes credit for the construction of a [[Vihāra|living quarters for monks]].{{sfn|Konow|1908|pp=319-28}} It is widely asserted that the structure referred to in the Kumaradevi inscription is the Dharmachakra Jina Vihar, but the evidence for this is inconclusive. Whatever the case, it is likely to be among the last structures to be built at Sarnath prior to its destruction in 1194.{{sfn|Asher|2020|pp=6-8}} The inscription is currently maintained at the Sarnath Museum.<ref name=ASI2013>{{cite web|author=Archaeological Survey of India|authorlink=Archaeological Survey of India|title=Accession Number: 33 (Kumaradevi inscription)|work=Archaeological Museum Sarnath|publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] - Sarnath Circle|location=Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh|year=2013|url=http://www.sarnathmuseumasi.org/gallery/Gallery2%20Acc%20No%2033.html|accessdate=2 January 2023}}</ref>

==Appreciation==
[[File:Buddha in Sarnath.jpg|thumb|1905, Excavation at Sarnath, with the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] (centre) and the Dharma-chakra-pravartana Buddha sculpture (right)]]

Of the hundreds of Buddha images produced by the Sarnath School, arguably the best known is this ''Dharmachakrapravartana'' image, showing the First Sermon preached at the Deer Park in Sarnath. John Huntington has analyzed this sculpture in detail. He wrote "Nowhere in the whole of Buddhist art is there a more clearly and specifically articulated vision of the event than this image... The image is also highly nuanced and to the aware observer has a vastly complex [[Buddhology|Buddhological]] message, to be read on several levels."<ref>Huntington, p. 89</ref>

One of the most well-known Buddha images from ancient South Asia, according to Catherine Becker, this Gupta period representation of the Buddha turning the wheel of dharma in the deer park at Sarnath is a canonical example of the "golden age" of Gupta sculpture.<ref>Catherine Becker, Shifting Stones, Shaping the Past: Sculpture from the Buddhist Stupas of Andhra Pradesh, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 156</ref>

According to Robert E. Fisher, "we are confronted with a figure of great spiritual bearing, far removed from the earlier, heavy ''[[yaksha]]''-derived images. Now attention is directed to the meaning of the faith, instead of to the person of the Buddha. His form is highly abstracted, extraneous details are eliminated and our attention is drawn to the focused gaze and to the face and hands, areas surrounded by smooth unadorned surfaces. These combine to convey a meaning extending beyond the episode of the First Sermon, and on to the transcendent dimensions of [[Mahayana]] Buddhism. The transcendent effect equals that found in the colossal images at [[Kanheri]] and [[Buddhas of Bamiyan|Bamiyan]], but without recourse to overpowering size".<ref>Fisher, 55-56</ref>

Krishna Dev, formerly and latterly, [[David Berry Knapp]], the mayor of [[Rajneeshpuram]], Oregon, described the sculpture as follows: "This outstanding image radiates the Master's adamant resolve and strength, combined with complete equanimity, compassion and tender grace. The inspired artist of this masterpiece has caught the moment when the great teacher who had achieved Supreme Enlightenment after six years of strenuous exertion, felt overwhelmed with compassion for the suffering humanity and condescended to turn the Wheel of Law... The momentous events of the First Sermon and the founding of the Buddhist Sangha are immortalised in this unique sculpture ... Combining elemental strength with tender grace and subtle delicacy with transcendental sublimation, this luminous image indeed constitutes a masterpiece of the Indian, nay World art, enshrining the noble teachings of Lord Buddha."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H4fXAAAAMAAJ&dq=sarnath+buddha+image+dharma+chakra&pg=PA131 Dharmachakra Pravartana Image of Buddha at Sarnath, Krishna Deva, The Maha Bodhi Centenary Volume. 1891 - 1991 p. 131-132]</ref>

[[Radha Kumud Mookerji]], born 1884, nationalist historian of India, wrote originally in 1947: "The Sarnath seated image of the Buddha in the act of his preaching the first sermon is considered as one of the masterpieces of Indian art, and of its Gupta style marked by its symbolism."<ref name="mookerji">{{citation|last=Mookerji|first=Radhakumud|year=1973|edition=5|orig-year=1947|page=142|publisher=Motilal Banarasidas|location=Delhi|title=The Gupta Empire|isbn=9788120800892 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA142}}</ref>

==Replica at the Mulagandhakuti Vihara==
{{see also|Maha_Bodhi_Society#Mulagandha_Kuty_Vihara_in_Sarnath}}

[[File:A Buddhist temple at Sarnath.jpg|thumb|Mulagandhakuti Vihara]]
[[File:Mulgandha Kuti Vihar, Beneras (Idol of Lord Buddha 1).JPG|thumb|The replica at the Mulgandha Kuti Vihar]]
After the excavations, a new temple was commissioned by the [[Maha Bodhi Society]] for construction in 1931. The frescoes on the walls were painted by the noted Japanese painter, Kosetsu Nosu.<ref>[http://www.chitralekha.org/articles/kosetsu-nosu/kosetsu-nosu-japanese-artist-who-painted-sarnath Kosetsu Nosu: The Japanese Artist who Painted at Sarnath, Satyasri Ukil, 2010]</ref> The focal point of the temple is a gilded replica of the famous sculpture of the Buddha in the Dharmachakra Pravartana mudra. [[Anagarika Dharmapala]], the founder of the [[Maha Bodhi Society]] actively guided the construction of the temple.

==Replicas of the Sarnath Buddha==
The image is sometimes referred to as simply as the Sarnath Buddha. This is one of the most reproduced Buddha images. Other images probably influenced by it include:

* Birla Mandir Delhi Buddha Vihar, inaugurated by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1939.
* On one face of the [[Rajgir]] Vishwa Shanti Stupa
* India gifted a 16-feet high Buddha statue to Sri Lanka to be installed at the sacred Sri Dalada Maligawa temple at Kandy in 2010.<ref>India to gift Buddha statue to Lanka, Sutirtho Patranobis, Hindustan Times, Colombo, December 21, 2010]</ref>
* Replica at the Luoyang [[White Horse Temple]] within the Sanchi stupa replica (Yindufodian)<ref>[https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/buddha-in-china-from-indu-sanchi-stupa-replica-promised-by-atal-nears-completion/cid/515779. Buddha in China, from 'Indu' - Sanchi stupa replica promised by Atal nears completion, ASHIS CHAKRABARTI, The Telegraph 31.12.08]{{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* Replica at the [[Palelai Buddhist Temple]] in Singapore
* Replica at the [[Poh Ern Shih Temple]] in Singapore
* Ancient sandstone replica found at an [[Udupi]] suburb<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mangalorean.com/miniature-sculpture-of-saranath-buddha-unearthed/ |title=Miniature Sculpture Of Saranath Buddha Unearthed, May 25, 2021 |access-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231175959/https://www.mangalorean.com/miniature-sculpture-of-saranath-buddha-unearthed/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> in 2021.

Small as well as large replicas in wood, marble, bronze, terracotta and plaster are widely reproduced and sold in India and overseas using the term "Sarnath Buddha".

==Gallery of replicas and similar works==
<gallery>

File:Budha statue in a Budha Vihar near Birla Mandir Delhi1.JPG|Budhha Vihar in Birla Mandir Complex Delhi
File:Rajgir - 050 Teaching Dhamma (9242022575).jpg|[[Rajgir]] Vishwa Shanti Stupa
File:Poh Ern Shih-Sarnath Buddha.jpg|Poh Ern Shih (Singapore) Sarnath Buddha copy
File:Yindufodian (5).png|[[White Horse Temple]] Indian hall (Yindufodian), [[Luoyang]], China
File:Buddha from Sarnath.jpg|A different Sarnath Dharmachakra Pravartana Buddha of same period, [[British Museum]]
File:Phra Buddha Mettapanyanath 09.jpg|Phra Buddha Mettapanyanath (10 feet high), [[Wat Khung Taphao]], Thailand
File:LK-kandy-zahntempel-buddh-mus.jpg|[[International Buddhist Museum]] at [[Kandy]], Sri Lanka
File:WLA lacma Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana Kashmir.jpg|Buddha Shakyamuni or Vairochana [[Kashmir]]
File:QC Harrington4 tango7174.jpg|Monastery of Tam Bao Son, Quebec, Canada.
File:Sermon in the Deer Park depicted at Wat Chedi Liem-KayEss-1.jpeg|Modern Thai depiction
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Asher|first=Frederick M.|title=Sarnath: A Critical History of the Place Where Buddhism Began|publisher=Getty Research Institute|location=Los Angeles|year=2020|isbn=978-1606066164|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMHEDwAAQBAJ}}
* Fisher, Robert E., ''Buddhist art and architecture'', 1993, Thames & Hudson, {{ISBN|0500202656}}
*[https://huntingtonarchive.org/resources/downloads/jchArticles/5_48%20Sarnath%20Buddhas.pdf John Huntington, "Understanding the 5th Century Buddhas of Sarnath: A Newly Identified Mudra and a New Comprehension of the Dharmachakra Mudra", p. 89], ''[[Orientations]]'', March 2009
*{{cite journal|last=Konow|first=Sten|author-link=Sten Konow|title=Sarnath Inscription of Kumaradevi|journal=Epigraphica Indica|volume=9|issue=51|pages=319–28|year=1908|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.48794/page/n431/mode/2up}}

{{Sarnath Museum}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Varanasi}}

[[Category:Sarnath]]
[[Category:Buddha statues in India]]
[[Category:5th-century sculptures]]
[[Category:Gupta art]]
[[Category:Stone Buddha statues]]

Buddha Preaching his First Sermon (Sarnath) - Revision history

Bhushana: Created a stub