Place · Buddhist stupa · India
Chaukhandi Stupa, Sarnath
Also known as Chaukhandi Stupa, Chaukhandi Stupa — Sarnath, Sarnath, Sarnath, Varanasi, Varanasi
The Chaukhandi Stupa at Sarnath in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh — the stupa marking the exact spot where the Buddha, after his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, met his five former ascetic companions (the Pancha Vargiya) before delivering his First Sermon at the nearby Deer Park. The original Gupta-period (4-5th century CE) terraced stupa is a massive brick platform rising three terraces. The octagonal top platform was added by Govardhan — a Mughal officer under Akbar's governor Qutbuddin Khan — in 1588 to commemorate the Mughal emperor Humayun's visit to Sarnath. The combination of Gupta Buddhist stupa and Mughal octagonal pavilion makes Chaukhandi one of the clearest architectural palimpsests of Indian religious history. ASI protection since 1904. The site is 500 metres from the Dhamek Stupa (where the First Sermon was delivered).
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 25.373, 83.022
Connections (2)
- Monument within siteSārnāth
The Chaukhandi stupa marks where the Buddha is said to have met the five ascetics on his way to the Deer Park, on the approach to Sarnath. An octagonal brick tower was built on top of it in the sixteenth century to mark Humayun's visit — so a Buddhist mound of the Gupta period carries a Mughal commemoration, and the two are now conserved as one monument.
- Site withinKāshī / Vārānasī / Banāras
Chaukhandi Stupa, Sarnath lies within Kāshī / Vārānasī / Banāras — the two sites sit about 8 km apart, well inside the city's historical boundary and part of the same urban or peri-urban landscape. Chaukhandi Stupa, Sarnath is one of the specific sites that give Kāshī / Vārānasī / Banāras its layered character, and reads differently when seen as a stop within the larger city rather than as an isolated monument on an open map. The surrounding neighbourhoods, roads and other heritage ensembles belong to the same single urban fabric.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Chaukhandi Stupa”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
Open Chaukhandi Stupa, Sarnath in the repository →