Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India  ▒

The deer park where the Buddha preached his first sermon is now called Sarnath. It lay forgotten ... until a British amateur archaeologist excavated the site in the nineteenth century. He found stupas and a pillar originally erected by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC. The biggest stupa, called Dhamekh, was on the site where the Buddha supposedly gave his first sermon, sitting with the Brahmins from Kapilavastu. Later archaeologists discovered the shrine where the Buddha apparently had sheltered from the rains; they also found monasteries, which seemed to have been destroyed by a great fire. A temple built by the Sri Lankan Buddhist Anagarika Dharmapala now stands in place of the shrine. The ruins of the monasteries lie amid vast green lawns. The grounds also include a deer park and a zoo. 

[- From An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World by Pankaj Mishra, pp 201-2]

First sermon of the Buddha	Dhamekh stupa ▒	Site of Buddha's first sermon	Dhamekh stupa carvings
Ashoka's pillar ▒			Dharmarajika stupa ▒
Ruins of monasteries (more)			Ruins with Dhamekh stupa (more)
Dharma Chakra-Jin Vihara ▒	Dharma Chakra-Jin Vihara	Gold leaf offering	Mulgandha Kuti (1, 2) ▒
Shelter from rain			Girls chasing tourist groups
Once a monastery (more)			Meditating monks
Sri Lankan monks	Thai monks	Praying monks	Photographing monk
Deer Park denizens	Unhappy looking monk	Refreshment stalls	ASI museum at Sarnath
Mulgandha Kuty Vihara
Commissioned by Dharmapala	Temple interior with murals	Buddha's statue	The Buddha leaving home
The distractions of Mara	The legend of Angulimala	Death of the Buddha	Mourning the Buddha's death