Why the story leads to Varanasi
Buddhist tradition holds that, after the awakening at Bodh Gaya, the Buddha reflected on whether his understanding could be taught to others and then decided to share it. He is said to have thought first of his former teachers, found they had died, and then turned to five ascetics who had practised alongside him. He is described as walking to meet them in a deer park at Isipatana, near the ancient city of Kasi, the city now called Varanasi. Today that place is known as Sarnath.
So the “journey to Varanasi” in the title is, in Buddhist terms, a journey to Sarnath. Varanasi itself is chiefly a Hindu holy city, and its role in this story is as the nearby city and a convenient base.
What the early texts say about the first sermon
The first teaching is preserved in several early sources, including a text of the Pali Canon known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, often translated as “Setting the Wheel of the Dharma in Motion”. Parallel versions exist in the collections of other early schools, and later Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions also honour the event. Accounts differ in detail, but the outline is broadly shared.
In that outline, the Buddha first describes a path that avoids two extremes: indulgence in sensual pleasure and severe self-mortification. This is called the Middle Way. He then sets out the Four Noble Truths, which he presents as the pattern of suffering, its origin, its end and the path leading to that end. The path is described as having eight factors, often summarised as right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. According to the texts, one of the five, Kondanna, was the first to understand the teaching, and the others followed. This is how the monastic community, or sangha, is traditionally said to have begun.
Scholars and traditions interpret the doctrine in various ways. This article gives the outline only.
Dating and the symbolism of the wheel
The event is traditionally held to have happened a few weeks after the awakening, though the texts do not give a precise chronology, and the date of the Buddha’s life itself remains a matter of scholarly discussion. Theravada communities commemorate the first teaching on a full moon day in the middle of the year, usually described as Asalha, while other traditions observe it on different days. Check dates each year with the community or calendar you follow.
The “wheel” in the Pali title has become one of the best-known Buddhist symbols. Representations of a wheel flanked by two deer appear on many temples and in art, recalling the Deer Park. This symbol is looked at further in the discussion of the Dharma wheel symbol, and the wheel’s spokes are often explained as the eight factors of the path.
What remains at Sarnath today
Sarnath preserves many remains, some from periods centuries after the Buddha. Visitors will usually see:
- The Dhamek Stupa, a large cylindrical structure, often connected by tradition with the spot of the first teaching, although scholars note that the monument in its present form is considerably later than the event. It is decorated with carved patterns on its lower portion.
- The excavated monastery remains, with foundations from several centuries, show that Sarnath was a major Buddhist centre long after the Buddha’s time.
- The Ashoka pillar, which the emperor Ashoka is traditionally credited with erecting in the third century BCE. The base of the pillar is still at the site, and its lion capital is displayed in the Sarnath Museum. The capital later served as a source for a national emblem of India.
- The Mulagandhakuti Vihara, a modern temple built in the twentieth century, which commemorates the Buddha’s residence at this place.
- The Deer Park, a green space where many pilgrims sit and reflect, now with a small deer enclosure.
The site’s later neglect and recovery is part of the Sarnath rediscovery story, which began with excavations in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Walking the path today
For modern pilgrims, the journey is often by road from Varanasi, a short distance away. Many also arrive having come from Bodh Gaya, which follows the sequence of the life story. Visitors usually walk around the stupa clockwise, visit the museum, and sit quietly in the park. The activity at the site is explored in more detail elsewhere in terms of chanting and reflection.
Etiquette applies as at other sites: dress modestly, remove shoes where asked, speak softly, avoid pointing feet at images and ask before photographing people. Customs vary, and local guidance takes priority. Opening times, ticketing and rules on archaeological areas change, so confirm them with current official information. As the region is hot in summer and wet in the monsoon, see the notes on heat on pilgrimage as well.
A word of caution about certainty
Some of what is said about this place rests on tradition rather than on contemporary documents. The identification of the Deer Park with Sarnath rests on a combination of texts, the accounts of Chinese pilgrim monks, inscriptions and archaeology, and most scholars accept it. The precise location of the first sermon within the site is less certain. Pilgrims generally treat that as part of the reverent character of the place and do not feel the need to resolve it.
This is an independent guide and does not speak for any tradition.