The Dhamek Stupa is a massive, cylindrical Buddhist monument located in Sarnath, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a sacred structure that marks the precise spot where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, an event known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta or the "Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dharma". This sermon established the foundational teachings of Buddhism, including the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and led to the formation of the first sangha (monastic community) with his five former companions.
The stupa's history spans over two millennia, beginning with an earlier structure commissioned by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great in 249 BCE to propagate Buddhism. The current, imposing structure, which stands 43.6 meters high and 28 meters in diameter, was built as a replacement during the Gupta period around 500 CE. The lower part of the stupa is constructed of stone and features exquisite floral and geometric carvings indicative of the Gupta aesthetic.
As a stupa, its mechanism is one of veneration and meditation; devotees perform pradakshina (circumambulation) by walking clockwise around the structure. The Dhamek Stupa is one of the four most sacred sites in Buddhism, connecting it directly to Lumbini (birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), and Kushinagar (death). Its name is thought to derive from the Sanskrit word dharmeksā, meaning "pondering of the law". The site was brought to wider scholarly attention in 1835 by Alexander Cunningham, the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, who conducted systematic excavations at Sarnath.