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धामेक स्तूप
Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh · 25.3808°, 83.0245°
Where the Buddha, weeks after enlightenment, turned the Wheel of Dharma — preaching the Four Noble Truths to five companions in the deer park. The 43.6 m Dhamek Stupa (Gupta-era brick over Ashoka's original) marks the spot; Ashoka's lion capital found here is India's national emblem, and the site anchors the global Buddhist circuit.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
A bodhisattva deer-king of Sarnath's ancient herds, offering his own life to a hunter-king in place of a doe's, converted the king and made the park inviolate — the deer that still graze here recall it.
~10 km from Varanasi city.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Gupta
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…