Knowledge Nugget: What makes Strawberry Moon different from Blue Moon and Micromoon?

Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC Current Affairs knowledge nugget for today on Sarnath, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Sarnath, the ancient site where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In this context, let’s know about Sarnath and some other important sites associated with the life of Buddha. 1. With the inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Sarnath becomes India’s 45th and Uttar Pradesh’s fourth World Heritage Site. The announcement came Saturday (July 25) during the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea. 2. Sarnath, one of the holiest sites of Buddhism, has recorded its significance on the global platform for heritage recognition. The state government stated this would strengthen Uttar Pradesh’s Buddhist Circuit on the international tourism and cultural heritage map. 3. Notably, Sarnath was included in UNESCO’s tentative list on July 3, 1998. Twenty-eight years on, it has been officially designated a World Heritage Site. Until now, the state’s three World Heritage Sites were the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri — all in the Agra region. 4. Sarnath is the sacred land where Lord Buddha, after attaining enlightenment, delivered his first sermon to humanity and set in motion the ‘Dharmachakra Pravartan’. Counted among the holy pilgrimage sites of Buddhism, Sarnath is described in ancient Buddhist scriptures such as Rishipattan. 5. Months ahead of its nomination, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had replaced the existing plaque at the site — to “correct” its recorded history — replacing the names of colonial rulers to credit the local royal family with discovering the site.Story continues below this ad How Sarnath was Rediscovered and Excavated? 6. Sarnath was among the earliest sites explored by amateur British archaeologists and indologists, possibly due to its proximity to Varanasi, which had a strong Company presence. 7. The credit for its “rediscovery” goes to workers of Jagat Singh, the diwan of Raja Chait Singh of Benares, who were digging at the site to retrieve brick and stone for a new marketplace being built in his name. (The locality at the heart of modern Varanasi still goes by the name ‘Jagatganj’). The workers discovered the inscribed pedestal of an image of the Buddha and two stone reliquaries, the contents of which, according to historian B C Bhattacharya, “were thrown into the river Ganges” (The History of Sarnath or the Cradle of Buddhism, 1923). 8. In 1799, these findings were reported by Jonathan Dunancan, a prominent indologist who had founded the Sanskrit College at Varanasi in 1791. Duncan’s descriptions were what spurred subsequent British excavations at the site, most notably by Cunningham in 1835-36. 9. During these excavations, Cunningham discovered and removed many statues from the site, as well as the sandstone box reported by Duncan from the Dharmarajika Stupa (formerly known as the ‘Jagat Singh Stupa’). By 1836, Cunningham had conclusively identified Sarnath as the location of the Buddha’s first sermon.Story continues below this ad 10. The most significant work on Sarnath, however, was carried out by archaeologist Friedrich Oertel in 1904-05. “He was the first scholar to carry out the work of excavation systematically and on a scientific basis. As a result of his work, 476 architectural and sculptural relics and 41 inscriptions were discovered in one season,” Bhattacharya wrote.