Page:History of India Vol 9.djvu/178



The great tope, or Buddhist memorial tower, at Sarnath, near Benares, is one of the most sacred shrines of the ancient faith of Gautama the Blessed. It commemorates the place where Buddha, after receiving his enlightenment, preached his first sermon and taught the doctrine of quenching the fire of lust in the human heart, a cardinal tenet of his faith.