The History of Sarnath or the Cradle of Buddhism

THE HISTORY OF SARNATH OR THE CRADLE OF BUDDHISM FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE MUHAMMEDAN CONQUEST INCLUDING AN ARCUIEOLOGICAL GUIDE TO THE MONUMENTS AND THE MUSEUM. [...] The author of this work has ur.dertLken the task of narrating in High Hindi the history of the famous Buddhist sanctuary of Sarnath—the Isipatana -Migadaya of the Pali scriptures—from the earliest recorded times down to the present day and he has accomplished it on the whole very well. [...] during the reign of the Mauryas and of KaniOca as well as at the time of the pilgrimage of Fa Hian and Hiuen Tsang.( 30 ) When this place was devastated by the Mahommedars the temple of the God Saranganatha was not in existence. [...] If this view be accepted the date of the construction of the temple was the end of the eiEhth century. [...] If on the other hand following the majority of the antiquarians it be held that the destruction of the Vihara at Sarnath was the work of the Mahommedans then it may be said that this temple was built a little before the close of the rule of the Sena Dynasty.