DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.635#0068
JAIN TEMPLE
55
and of the great city which once flourished round about
Sarnath, it is curious to note that there is only one
modern temple. Strangely enough, this is not Buddhist.
The missionaries of Asoka spread the Buddhist faith
far and wide beyond his dominions, into the countries
of Eastern Asia, where it still counts many millions
of followers, but in India itself it hardly exists now
EXCAVATIONS BELOW HUMAYUN'S TOWER, SARNATH, 1905
as a separate creed. This solitary temple, close to
the great stupa of Dhamek, belongs to the Jains, a
sect founded by a teacher contemporary with Buddha,
which still flourishes in northern India, and has many
noble shrines, ancient and modern.
It is only within recent years that the history of this
sect has been made clear to Europeans through the
researches of Professors Jacobi, Buhler, Dr. Hoernle,
and others. The founder, Mahavira, " the Great
Hero", was a contemporary of Buddha. Like him,
55
and of the great city which once flourished round about
Sarnath, it is curious to note that there is only one
modern temple. Strangely enough, this is not Buddhist.
The missionaries of Asoka spread the Buddhist faith
far and wide beyond his dominions, into the countries
of Eastern Asia, where it still counts many millions
of followers, but in India itself it hardly exists now
EXCAVATIONS BELOW HUMAYUN'S TOWER, SARNATH, 1905
as a separate creed. This solitary temple, close to
the great stupa of Dhamek, belongs to the Jains, a
sect founded by a teacher contemporary with Buddha,
which still flourishes in northern India, and has many
noble shrines, ancient and modern.
It is only within recent years that the history of this
sect has been made clear to Europeans through the
researches of Professors Jacobi, Buhler, Dr. Hoernle,
and others. The founder, Mahavira, " the Great
Hero", was a contemporary of Buddha. Like him,