India: Day 7
Apr. 25th, 2005 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatarperegrineDay 7 of our India trip: day trip to Sarnath, evening in Varanasi
January 25 (written January 27)
We went to Sarnath around 10 o'clock. Transportation was a bit difficult; a very insistent cycle rickshaw wallah really didn't want to take no for an answer. In the end, he took "no," but not before telling us that any auto rickshaw driver would charge us 250 rupees for one way. He even hailed an auto rickshaw to stop in front of us and spoke briefly to the driver, who then said, "Sarnath? 250!" Moving on, the first auto rickshaw driver we hailed took 100 on the spot.
Trips through the major arteries of Varanasi are bumpy and smoky -- there are many badly-tuned, smoke-belching motors on the road, and the air in the thoroughfares generally looks like there are smoky campfires all along them (which, as the evening grows colder, there actually are). I feel especially for the cycle rickshaw wallahs -- they are low-paid, and tend to do fairly aerobic work in terrible air. It must take a toll on their lungs.
Sarnath itself was a welcome change from the city. It has the feel of a smaller community, and has fewer touts and such. The driver wanted to wait for us, telling us that Sarnath would only take two hours to see. We ended up spending about 5 1/2 hours, and could have happily spent some more.
As in Bodh Gaya, several Buddhist groups have built temples/monasteries in Sarnath -- it is famous as the place the Buddha walked to after attaining enlightenment to give his first sermon, on the four noble truths and the eightfold path. We visited the Tibetan monastery first. It was beautiful, but not particularly unique to me, though the paintings were very reminiscent of much Chinese art -- dragons and angry mustachioed warriors/demons, some multi-armed. One painting had a rat, so we took a picture for Mary:
The major points of interest in Sarnath are on a triangle of road, approximately half a kilometer on the short side and a kilometer long on each of the longer sides. Walking along this triangle, we next came to the Deer Park, which is supposedly the site of the aforementioned sermon. It's a large, well-maintained park, and has several landmarks, including a Sri Lankan temple with murals by a Japanese artist, a Jain Temple, and the Dhamekha Stupa [which marks the believed location of the first sermon]. Unfortunately, the monuments and temples close for a couple hours in the afternoon and we were in that window, so we wandered the park.
While the temples were closed, we visited an archaeological museum which houses many of the (mostly Buddhist-related) artifacts which have been found in Sarnath. Most famously, it houses the four lion pillar capital which is the major symbol on the Indian flag. [It's not on the flag, but it is the national emblem of India.] We saw many, many Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. It was a neat little place, set in some beautifully maintained gardens. Unfortunately, as in many of the museums, photography was not allowed; I would've liked to have gotten at least a picture of the capital. Another highlight was a large, unfinished statue of a 10 armed Shiva vanquishing a demon -- though we didn't really understand the story at the time, Ranaji told it to us the next day. The docent/guard sitting in the room was appreciative of us taking our time to look at each item; after a while he started pointing out the different gods, though his English was about nonexistent. I like to think that he really loved that museum and liked to see us getting a lot out of it.
[After a very thorough museum visit we were pretty hungry, so we stopped for lunch at a fun restaurant whose walls were made entirely of hanging vines.]
Moving down the road again we found the Thai temple, which was being built! There were large group of workmen using hammers and chisels to smooth off rectangular blocks of stone with astonishing precision. It appeared that the structure they were working on was intended to hold an extremely large Buddha head, which was off to the side of the site, covered by a large canopy. When I went to take a picture of the workers' craft, one of them glared at me, so I didn't linger past the first picture.
Further down the road we came to the Chaukhandi Stupa, on which rests an octagonal tower built by Akbar, one of the Mughal (Muslim) kings. The tower seems to be there in a spirit of trumping the stupa. The remains of the stupa itself are a large mound built of bricks. An old woman at the bottom had the keys to the tower, but demanded backsheesh of 10 rupees each to climb the stupa and unlock the tower; to this we agreed, and she showed herself to be quite nimble going up the mound. The view from atop the tower was above most of the trees, so we could see most of the larger structures poking through the forested areas. Well worth the climb. The woman, who didn't speak a whole lot of English, did like to count things aloud, and enumerated all the temples and such from atop the tower. From there, we noticed that we had missed the Korean temple, which was off the main road aways.
On the way down the stupa, we took some pictures, then headed back up the road to the Korean temple. It was a small compound next to a school, so it was a neat juxtaposition -- quiet, peaceful garden with the sounds of children playing coming over the wall. [Most of the Buddhist monasteries in Bodh Gaya and Sarnath seem to run schools, programs for poor children, and other community service programs.]
Finally, we headed back to the Deer Park, where buildings were now supposed to be open. We visited the Jain Temple, in which a man was praying constantly and which was decorated with panels of paintings which I didn't recognize. We didn't go inside the temple proper for fear of disturbing the praying man. We walked back by Dhamekha stupa, where pilgrims who were previously circumambulating were now seated and chanting.
The Sri Lankan temple was particularly nice; the murals inside were beautifully done, and included many scenes I could identify using the knowledge from my recent crash course in Buddhism. A nearby monument contained an engraving of the text of the Buddha's first sermon in many languages -- probably 16 to 20, mostly Asian. I believe English may have been the only Western language present. [These engravings encircled a tableau of larger-than-life statues of the Buddha and his five ascetic disciples, seated around another descendent of the Bodhi tree.] We headed back towards the Tibetan temple and picked up a ride back to Assi Ghat.
After crashing in the hotel, we decided to walk up the ghats and a bit to see what goes on on the Ganga in the evening. We came across a Hindu ceremony in progress. [We think this was arati, the offering of oil lamps and other offerings to the Ganga.] Three priests (?) had a variety of implements and were picking up various ones of them and waving at them around in a synchronized manner. Two other men were ringing harsh bells in a 1-1-2-2 even pattern which we had heard from afar various times previously. A number of Indians (pilgrims? locals?) were seated on the steps watching, [and we sat down at a slight distance to see what was happening; we didn't expect to be included in the proceedings, as we very graciously were]. After a while, a man came around with a large tray heaped with flower petals, giving people handfuls. A bit later, he came around with holy water and a red paste, which he touched to our foreheads, marking them. We either looked somewhat lost or conspicuously non-Indian, because a young boy of around 13 or so was helpful in explaining that we were going to go throw the petals into the river. It was really nice how welcoming the service felt -- even though it was extremely high-context and we really have no idea what was going on, it had a very inclusive feel.
The downside of this open-air service on the Ganga was that we were mobbed by young kids hawking postcards and candles to light and float down the river. Many of them stood in front of us for several minutes repeating their pitch, and made it hard to watch and listen to what was going on. It felt very wrong to me, but Marjorie later pointed out that it's yet another sign of how the sacred and profane are much more closely linked here -- to the point that interrupting a service by selling goods may not be the egregious act that it would be in, e.g., a Methodist church.
[On to Day 8: Varanasi]
[Back to Day 6: Bodh Gaya]
January 25 (written January 27)
We went to Sarnath around 10 o'clock. Transportation was a bit difficult; a very insistent cycle rickshaw wallah really didn't want to take no for an answer. In the end, he took "no," but not before telling us that any auto rickshaw driver would charge us 250 rupees for one way. He even hailed an auto rickshaw to stop in front of us and spoke briefly to the driver, who then said, "Sarnath? 250!" Moving on, the first auto rickshaw driver we hailed took 100 on the spot.
Trips through the major arteries of Varanasi are bumpy and smoky -- there are many badly-tuned, smoke-belching motors on the road, and the air in the thoroughfares generally looks like there are smoky campfires all along them (which, as the evening grows colder, there actually are). I feel especially for the cycle rickshaw wallahs -- they are low-paid, and tend to do fairly aerobic work in terrible air. It must take a toll on their lungs.
Sarnath itself was a welcome change from the city. It has the feel of a smaller community, and has fewer touts and such. The driver wanted to wait for us, telling us that Sarnath would only take two hours to see. We ended up spending about 5 1/2 hours, and could have happily spent some more.
As in Bodh Gaya, several Buddhist groups have built temples/monasteries in Sarnath -- it is famous as the place the Buddha walked to after attaining enlightenment to give his first sermon, on the four noble truths and the eightfold path. We visited the Tibetan monastery first. It was beautiful, but not particularly unique to me, though the paintings were very reminiscent of much Chinese art -- dragons and angry mustachioed warriors/demons, some multi-armed. One painting had a rat, so we took a picture for Mary:
Possibly rat-like animal in the left hand of a demon? warrior?? [see comment below]
The major points of interest in Sarnath are on a triangle of road, approximately half a kilometer on the short side and a kilometer long on each of the longer sides. Walking along this triangle, we next came to the Deer Park, which is supposedly the site of the aforementioned sermon. It's a large, well-maintained park, and has several landmarks, including a Sri Lankan temple with murals by a Japanese artist, a Jain Temple, and the Dhamekha Stupa [which marks the believed location of the first sermon]. Unfortunately, the monuments and temples close for a couple hours in the afternoon and we were in that window, so we wandered the park.
A shot of the sixth century Dhamekha Stupa from someone else's website,
since we never got close enough for a shot of our own.
While the temples were closed, we visited an archaeological museum which houses many of the (mostly Buddhist-related) artifacts which have been found in Sarnath. Most famously, it houses the four lion pillar capital which is the major symbol on the Indian flag. [It's not on the flag, but it is the national emblem of India.] We saw many, many Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. It was a neat little place, set in some beautifully maintained gardens. Unfortunately, as in many of the museums, photography was not allowed; I would've liked to have gotten at least a picture of the capital. Another highlight was a large, unfinished statue of a 10 armed Shiva vanquishing a demon -- though we didn't really understand the story at the time, Ranaji told it to us the next day. The docent/guard sitting in the room was appreciative of us taking our time to look at each item; after a while he started pointing out the different gods, though his English was about nonexistent. I like to think that he really loved that museum and liked to see us getting a lot out of it.
The museum recently banned cameras, but luckly others have taken pictures in the past.
[After a very thorough museum visit we were pretty hungry, so we stopped for lunch at a fun restaurant whose walls were made entirely of hanging vines.]
Moving down the road again we found the Thai temple, which was being built! There were large group of workmen using hammers and chisels to smooth off rectangular blocks of stone with astonishing precision. It appeared that the structure they were working on was intended to hold an extremely large Buddha head, which was off to the side of the site, covered by a large canopy. When I went to take a picture of the workers' craft, one of them glared at me, so I didn't linger past the first picture.
 |  | |
| Structure being built at the Thai temple, Sarnath. Buddha head in background, being slowly covered in squares of goldleaf as Thai pilgrims bring offerings. | Workers use incredibly basic tools to shape the stones for the new temple building. |
Further down the road we came to the Chaukhandi Stupa, on which rests an octagonal tower built by Akbar, one of the Mughal (Muslim) kings. The tower seems to be there in a spirit of trumping the stupa. The remains of the stupa itself are a large mound built of bricks. An old woman at the bottom had the keys to the tower, but demanded backsheesh of 10 rupees each to climb the stupa and unlock the tower; to this we agreed, and she showed herself to be quite nimble going up the mound. The view from atop the tower was above most of the trees, so we could see most of the larger structures poking through the forested areas. Well worth the climb. The woman, who didn't speak a whole lot of English, did like to count things aloud, and enumerated all the temples and such from atop the tower. From there, we noticed that we had missed the Korean temple, which was off the main road aways.
Muslim octagonal tower (1588) perched on the fifth century Chaukhandi Stupa,which marks the location where the newly enlightened Buddha met the five ascetics
who had rejected him, but who then embraced him as their teacher.
 |  | |
| Justin pauses partway up the stupa. A hole reveals some kind of tunnel; was it once more than a mound? | Marjorie admires the serene view from atop the stupa. |
On the way down the stupa, we took some pictures, then headed back up the road to the Korean temple. It was a small compound next to a school, so it was a neat juxtaposition -- quiet, peaceful garden with the sounds of children playing coming over the wall. [Most of the Buddhist monasteries in Bodh Gaya and Sarnath seem to run schools, programs for poor children, and other community service programs.]
Finally, we headed back to the Deer Park, where buildings were now supposed to be open. We visited the Jain Temple, in which a man was praying constantly and which was decorated with panels of paintings which I didn't recognize. We didn't go inside the temple proper for fear of disturbing the praying man. We walked back by Dhamekha stupa, where pilgrims who were previously circumambulating were now seated and chanting.
The Sri Lankan temple was particularly nice; the murals inside were beautifully done, and included many scenes I could identify using the knowledge from my recent crash course in Buddhism. A nearby monument contained an engraving of the text of the Buddha's first sermon in many languages -- probably 16 to 20, mostly Asian. I believe English may have been the only Western language present. [These engravings encircled a tableau of larger-than-life statues of the Buddha and his five ascetic disciples, seated around another descendent of the Bodhi tree.] We headed back towards the Tibetan temple and picked up a ride back to Assi Ghat.
After crashing in the hotel, we decided to walk up the ghats and a bit to see what goes on on the Ganga in the evening. We came across a Hindu ceremony in progress. [We think this was arati, the offering of oil lamps and other offerings to the Ganga.] Three priests (?) had a variety of implements and were picking up various ones of them and waving at them around in a synchronized manner. Two other men were ringing harsh bells in a 1-1-2-2 even pattern which we had heard from afar various times previously. A number of Indians (pilgrims? locals?) were seated on the steps watching, [and we sat down at a slight distance to see what was happening; we didn't expect to be included in the proceedings, as we very graciously were]. After a while, a man came around with a large tray heaped with flower petals, giving people handfuls. A bit later, he came around with holy water and a red paste, which he touched to our foreheads, marking them. We either looked somewhat lost or conspicuously non-Indian, because a young boy of around 13 or so was helpful in explaining that we were going to go throw the petals into the river. It was really nice how welcoming the service felt -- even though it was extremely high-context and we really have no idea what was going on, it had a very inclusive feel.
The downside of this open-air service on the Ganga was that we were mobbed by young kids hawking postcards and candles to light and float down the river. Many of them stood in front of us for several minutes repeating their pitch, and made it hard to watch and listen to what was going on. It felt very wrong to me, but Marjorie later pointed out that it's yet another sign of how the sacred and profane are much more closely linked here -- to the point that interrupting a service by selling goods may not be the egregious act that it would be in, e.g., a Methodist church.
A tilak-ed Marjorie, quite mellowed out compared to panicky Bodh Gaya Marjorie.
[On to Day 8: Varanasi]
[Back to Day 6: Bodh Gaya]
