The first analytical history of Sarnath, the place where the Buddha preached his first sermon and established the Buddhist monastic order. Sarnath has long been regarded as the place where the Buddha preached his first sermon and established the Buddhist monastic order. Excavations at Sarnath have yielded the foundations of temples and monastic dwellings, two Buddhist reliquary mounds (stupas), and some of the most important sculptures in the history of Indian art. This volume offers the first critical examination of the historic site. Frederick M. Asher provides a longue durée (long-term) analysis of Sarnath—including the plunder, excavation, and display of antiquities and the Archaeological Survey of India’s presentation—and considers what lies beyond the fenced-in excavated area. His analytical history of Sarnath’s architectural and sculptural remains contains a significant study of the site’s sculptures, their uneven production, and their global distribution. Asher also examines modern Sarnath, which is a living establishment replete with new temples and monasteries that constitute a Buddhist presence on the outskirts of Varanasi, the most sacred Hindu city.

The present work contains a brief study of the various facets of Mithila folk-arts and paintings, which are unique in character having few parallels. Of late there has been great talk about this painting, the central inspiration of which revolves round popular religious themes and natural surroundings. They reflect the self-control and serenity of Maithila life and the definite theocratic and aristocratic organizations of Maithila society. The women painters of Mithila aimed at giving clear and edifying expression to certain intuitions, which formed part of their religion. The different forms of floor-drawings (Aripana) and walk-paintings (bhitti-citra) provide information on customs and costumes and rituals and religion which otherwise may remain unnoticed. The volume further explains in detail the religious and spiritual significance of the folk-arts and paintings of Mithila by means of copious references to Sanskrit texts, both sacred and secular. The paintings, as they are, constitute not merely a heap of drawings but a visible symbol of aspirations of pious ladies, and the throbbings of their hearts in religious fervour. A work of inestimable interest both for the specialist and for the connisseur interested in the study of Indian paintings, this comprehensive and authoritative volume on Madhubani painting and other folk-arts of Mithila will prove of immense help to students of Indian culture.