Situated north-east of Varanasi, the prominent Hindu township by the Ganges, Sarnath was the site where the newly enlightened Gautam Buddha gave his first sermon to a handful of his five companions who would eventually go on to become the Sangha or the community of the enlightened ones.

By the time that the Chinese travel Xuan Zang visited Sarnath in 640 AD, Sarnath was an already established centre for the learning of Buddhist Dharma with the region having a 100-metre high Stupa with around 1,500 Monks living and learning in large Monasteries.