INDIA, AGRA: THE TAJ MAHAL AND A STONE FACTORY

 December 28, 2024

Before our trip, when we told anyone we were going to India, their first question was, "Are you going to see the Taj Mahal?" Yes, of course! This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the #1 tourist attraction in India (although it is being overtaken by a city I haven't heard of--Ayodhya--308 miles to the east). UNESCO declared it "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally recognized masterpieces of the world's heritage." It was also named one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" in 2001. Taj Mahal is Hindi for "Crown Palace." It is interesting to note that out of the 7 to 8 million visitors it hosted in 2024, less than 1 million were international tourists and the rest were domestic.

To get to "the Taj," as it is fondly called, you first have to pass through the Monkey Guard, a long walk from the parking area to the Taj itself that is guarded by aggressive macaque monkeys.

There are a lot of them, both underfoot . . . 

. . . and overhead.

Tourists are given plenty of warning to use caution around the monkeys. The sign at right has five bullet points of advice. I should have paid more attention to the one that says "Don't make direct eye contact with monkeys." More on that at the end of this post.

INDIA, AGRA: THE ITIMAD-UD-DAULAH OR "BABY TAJ"

 December 27, 2024

Between the Agra Fort and our next destination, we passed a few interesting things on the street, including this man on horse back (left) who I think is Shivaji I, a 17th century Indidan ruler. The guy in the right peering in our van window is a bit scary, don't you think?

I think that is a mechanic's shop on the left with it's very own domed verandah. It's hard to believe that the "Hotel Alleviate" (right) could offer anything better.

This little roadside stand selling water and cigarettes had a sign that said "Try unmatched quality." It also had monkeys on the roof.

We saw more monkeys on a roof and in a tree when we got to our destination the Itimad-ud-Daulah, locally known as the "Baby Taj."

INDIA: BACK TO DELHI AND ON TO AGRA'S RED FORT

 December 26-27, 2024

Our next destination was Agra, home to the world-renowned Taj Majal, but to get there from Varanasi we had to fly to Delhi, spend the night, then sit four hours in a minivan to drive 150 miles, which gives you an idea of what the roads are like in India.

Fortunately, we had another luxury stay in Delhi in the Marriott Hotel. It wins the prize for the most beautiful lobby.

I was intrigued by this Christmas display with a griffin in the center, but I have since learned that the griffin is the Marriott Hotel's custom logo found in their hotels throughout the world.

Like almost all of our upper-end hotels, this one had a doorman in traditional dress. I don't know if this is a British colonial thing or a truly Indian culture thing. I suspect it is the former.

About half-way through the long drive we made a bathroom and snack stop.  I like how this bathrooms are labeled "Public Conveniences." 

KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway are regular fast food places in India. No thanks. I grabbed something (I can't remember what) from the Indian fast food restaurant Vaango!

We arrived at the Agra Fort (aka Red Fort) in the early afternoon. I think it was the most spectacular thing we had seen up until this point in our trip. The initial stages of the fort were built in the early 1500s, and it was the main residence of the Mughal emperors from the time of its construction until 1638, which is when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It is where the most famous Mughal emperors, Humayun and Akbar, were crowned in 1565 and 1573, respectively. (It was Akbar's grandson who built the Taj Mahal just 1.6 miles from this site in 1648.) The Agra Fort was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

INDIA, SARNATH: BUDDHA'S FIRST SERMON

 December 26, 2025

A few miles outside of Varanasi is a small town with a huge history: Sarnath. Nope, I had never heard of it either. It is believed to be the place that the Buddha delivered his first sermon in 528 BC after attaining enlightenment. Sarnath is also known as Deer Park, a name referring to a Buddhist legend in which one deer offered its life to a king in place of a pregnant doe the king was planning to kill. The king was so moved by the offer that he made the park a deer sanctuary. For Buddhists, Sarnath is one of the four most important pilgrimage sites in the world related to the life of Gautama Buddha and is on UNESCO's tentative list to become a World Heritage Site.

It has a great Disneyland-style entrance known as the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara. Built in 1931, it is a actually a monastery/temple that I'll talk about in a minute.

It's larger than it looks. Here is what it looks like from behind:

On the approach to the temple are many colorful Buddhist prayer flags, and in between them are photos of various paintings or statues of the Buddha found around the world accompanied by one of his sayings. Here are just a few of them:

Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into
mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where
one may escape from the results of evil deeds.

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the wind,
even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.

"He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed
me." Those who harbour such thoughts do not still their hatred.

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-
hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a Law Eternal.

Two statues are also part of the lead-up to the temple. On the left is Emperor Ashoka the Great (c 268-232 BC), who ruled over a large part of India. When he was deeply moved by the negative affects of war, he renounced violence and committed himself to the path of non-violence and compassion. Under his reign, Buddhism spread throughout India. On the right is Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933), who was the first global Buddhist missionary and was a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually non-existent for several centuries. He was also the builder of the temple we were about to enter.

To enter the temple, we first removed our shoes as this is a sacred place for Buddhists.

Although we didn't see them (our guide should have pointed them out), the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara Temple is said to contain the relics of the Buddha that were discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India during excavations in other parts of the country.

The temple is essentially one large room covered in frescoes that depict scenes from the life of Guatama Buddha. The freschoes were done by a world-renowned Japanese artist (and Buddhist) named Kosetsu Nosu.

The temple also houses this beautiful golden Buddha altar. Perhaps this is where the relics are enshrined?

Based on the women's clothing, this very large tour group did not appear to be Indian, and they definitely weren't Americans.

The "Bodhi Tree" ("Tree of Awakening" or "Tree of Enlightenment") is a large fig tree located in northeastern India under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. A cutting of that tree was replanted in Sarnath in 1931 near the spot believed to be the place where Buddha delivered his sermon.

A depiction of the Buddha preaching to his original five disciples (one hidden here) is recreated under the tree.

The words he spoke are engraved on a brass plaque in front of the diorama.

Behind the diorama is a real Buddhist monk dispensing blessings.

An important Public Service Announcement:

The platform is supported by nine Buddhas in niches on each side.

There is also a line of prayer wheels, engraved cylindars that can be spun on their central spindle, which are part of Buddhist meditation practices.

I don't know if this basin is for general handwashing or ceremonial cleansing, but it is definitely not for spitting!

We were always just a bit behind this big tour group. Here they are in front of  the World Peace Bell, installed here in 2005. It can be heard a distance of 7 km away. An inscription on the bell reads, in part: Each time this Dharma Bell rings out at Sarnath . . . may the sound of the bell evoke blessings in this dark time . . . to restore universal peace and harmony throughout time a space . . . .

More of the Buddha's pithy maxims are inscribed on brass plaques that are found around the grounds .

These are not part of the Bodhi Tree, but they are beautiful, complex trees.

It seemed odd that the alternate name for Sarnath is "Deer Park," but then we saw some deer that looked like they were used to going wherever they wanted to go.

I think someone must have been selling this fruit, or perhaps feeding the deer? Maybe he/she had to make a restroom stop or something else. It was just sitting unattended in the dirt.

This relief tells the story of the "Chaddanta Elephant." It goes something like this: 

Chaddanta was a six-tusked elephant who encountered a queen who was his consort in a previous life. She sought revenge for some embarrassment he had caused her in the earlier life by demanding that one of her hunters cut off Chaddanta's tusks. The hunter tracked down the elephant, and when Chaddanta saw the hunter clad in the saffron robes of a Buddhist monk, he not only did not resist, but he helped the hunter cut off his tusks. When the hunter brought the tusks back to the queen, she fainted and died.

We wandered through the ruins of what seemed like hundreds of structures and monuments

There are the fragments of what was once a 50-foot-tall sandstone pillar built by the great emperor Ashoka (272-232 BC). It was topped by a sculpture of four lions standing back-to-back, which was recovered during excavations in the 20th century and is in a museum on the premises.

There are also remnants of a huge temple that is believed to be the spot where Lord Buddha sat to meditate.

My favorite ruin was the massive Dhamekh Stupa, one of eight stupas built by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC (and rebuilt in 500 AD) to commemorate the Buddha's activities. This one is supposedly at the exact spot where the Buddha preached his first sermon. The solid stone and brick has a diameter of 91 feet at the base and is 143 feet tall. Eight niches that face eight different directions probably once contained images of the Buddha. After the death of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and divided into eight parts, each part being buried under a different stupa, this stupa being one of the eight.

Circumambulation (a fancy word for a ritual walking around a sacred structure) by Buddhists from all over the world is part of their worship during their pilgrimage here.

I'm not sure why pilgrims would stick golden foil on the monuments. Interesting. Maybe they are inspired by this yellow brick road!

At some point in our walk through Sarnath we stopped at a small shop/art gallery and eventually bought this painting of a kalachakra mandala, which is said to depict the balance of the universe and reflect a journey of spiritual growth. Kalachakra translates to "Wheel of Time," which refers to the cyclical nature of life and and the interconnectedness of all existence. We had the canvas framed after we got home.

We spent a little bit of time at the end of our tour at the Archaeological Museum of Sarnath, which includes over 6,800 sculptures and artifacts related to Buddhist and Hindu practices.

There are many interesting artifacts, the most interesting (to me, at least) being the many iterations of the Buddha.

But the crown jewel of the museum is literally a crown--the sculpture that I mentioned earlier that topped the now non-existent Ashoka Pillar. This image is the state emblem of India.

The lions looking in four different directions represent the worldwide influence of the Buddha and his order.

On our way back to Varanasi, we passed by this large Hindu monument to the monkey god, Hanuman.

There is so much to see and learn about in India. The possibilities for tourism are endless and sometimes overwhelming!