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Sarnath Museum


Sarnath Museum is one of best museums which show-cases the Buddhist Cultural affluence. It is situated in the midst of natural surroundings in the district of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The museum is known for its ancient remains of Buddhist stupas, temple and monasteries. The museum is said to have been discovered from the site of Lord Buddha’s first speech at the deer park, Mrigadaya in Sarnath. The findings in the museum are connected to the Buddhist monasteries hence the plan of the building was designed on the model of a Sangharam or a vihar. The museum was designed by James Ransome and the main idea was conceived by Sir John Marshal who was the director General of Archaeology in early 1900. The construction of the museum started in the year 1904 and completed in 1910. The whole building is constructed out of sandstone and has a flat roof. The building has a Central hall like the main chapel and galleries like the monastic cells.

Collection

The antiquity collection ranges from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century BC. Sarnath has a rich collection of sculptures, buildings and artefacts connected to Buddha and Bodhisattva images and many other ancient remains. In this beautiful sculpture, Buddha sits cross-legged in a deep meditation pose with the eyes downcast with a halo around his head.  The other impressive remain worth seeing is the striking and remarkably beautiful, full-size standing Bodhisatva. There is a delicate image of the Bodhisattva with a lotus and a bronze sculpture showing the Boddhisattva with multiple arms. There are some good collection of figures and sculptures from the Mauryan, the Kushana and Gupta period exhibited in the museum. Some of the famous ones are the earliest Buddha image and many images of Hindu Gods from the 9th to 12th centuries.   Ashoka’s Lion Capital, the original sandstone sculpted one, is preserved in this museum and it was originally erected around 250BC on top of the Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath

Galleries

There is lot to be seen in the museum which has five galleries named Thatagata, Triratna, Shakhyasimha, Trimurti and Ashutosh. They have been named based on the collections inside. Shakhyasimha is the main hall. There are two verandas.

Visitor Information

The museum is closed on Friday and is open on all others days from 9am to 5 pm. It is closed on Fridays.  The entrance fee is very nominal and children up to the age of 15 are not charged any entrance fee.

How To Reach

Sarnath is 9 km to the north of Varanasi city and one can reach the place by road, rail and air. 

By Road

Sarnath is well connected to other important cities like Allahabad, Lucknow, Agra, Mathura etc by road. Government plies enough buses, both AC and Non AC

By Train

Sarnath has a small station which has about six trains coming in every day. Varnasi is the closest major railway station and it is only 10kms away. Varnasi is very well connected to the rest of the country.

By Air

The nearest airport is the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport at Varanasi. Private and Public air carriers operate from Varanasi.

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