Sarnath Bodhi Tree & First-Sermon Sculpture Group

Set within the leafy Mulagandha Kuti Vihara compound of the Maha Bodhi Society, a short walk from the towering Dhamekh Stupa, this is one of Sarnath's quietest and most moving corners.

• At its heart stands a Bodhi tree grown from a sapling of the sacred fig at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka — itself descended from the very tree at Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
• The branch was carried to India and planted here on 12 November 1931 by Anagarika Dharmapala, the Sri Lankan reformer who founded the Maha Bodhi Society and almost single-handedly revived Sarnath as a place of pilgrimage.
• The planting coincided with the opening of the adjacent Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, and the tree today spreads a broad, whispering canopy over pilgrims from across the Buddhist world.
• Ringed around the base of the tree is the site's most photographed feature: a group of life-size sculptures depicting the very moment that gives Sarnath its meaning.
• The Buddha is shown seated, his hands raised in the dharmachakra-pravartana mudra — the gesture of "turning the wheel of Dharma" — while five figures kneel and listen.
• These are his first disciples, Kaundinya, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama and Assaji, to whom he delivered his First Sermon in the Deer Park after enlightenment.
• The tableau, together with its low stone retaining wall, was built in 1989 with the support of Buddhist devotees from Myanmar (Burma), and smaller seated Buddha figures and a large bell complete the peaceful tree-shaded enclosure.
• The atmosphere here is contemplative rather than crowded.
• Monks in maroon and saffron robes circumambulate the tree, pilgrims tie prayer flags and offer flowers, and the rustle of the pipal leaves lends the spot an unhurried calm that rewards visitors who linger.
• It pairs naturally with the surrounding Sarnath circuit — the Dhamekh Stupa, the Archaeological Museum with its Ashokan lion capital, and the frescoed Mulagandha Kuti Vihara are all within a few minutes' stroll — making this a gentle, reflective counterpoint to the intensity of Varanasi's riverfront ghats ten kilometres away.
• Vegetarian travellers will feel entirely at home in Sarnath, which is one of the most reliably meat-free and alcohol-free enclaves near Varanasi.
• The satvik pilgrim thali houses lining Ashok Marg just outside the compound serve simple pure-vegetarian meals — dal, seasonal sabzi, rice, rotis and kheer — cooked to suit visiting monks and pilgrims.
• For a wider spread, carry the appetite back into the old city, where long-established pure-veg institutions such as Kashi Chat Bhandar at Godowlia and Ksheer Sagar at Sonarpura are entirely vegetarian.
• A word of caution common to all of Varanasi: many riverside "lassi" and "thandai" stalls sell bhang (cannabis) versions, so always ask specifically for a plain, bhang-free lassi or thandai.