Previous Year Question

The correct answer is Sarnath.

Kumaradevi, the queen of the Gahadavala ruler Govindachandra, constructed the famous Dharmachakra Jina Vihara at Sarnath. This is confirmed by an inscription discovered at Sarnath.

According to the Archaeological Survey account, a well-preserved inscription discovered in 1907–08 records that Kumaradevi had this structure erected. She was the queen of Govindachandra, the ruler of Kannauj, and was a follower of Buddhism.

The monastery was known as the Dharmachakra-Jina-Vihara. Here, the word ‘Jina’ refers to Gautama Buddha, so it would be incorrect to interpret it as a Jain monastery. The archaeological description identifies it as the “Shrine of the Lord of the Wheel of the Law, i.e., Gautama Buddha.”

Sarnath has special importance in Buddhist history because it was here that Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining enlightenment. This event is known as Dharmachakra-Pravartana, or the turning of the Wheel of Dharma. Therefore, the construction of the Dharmachakra Jina Vihara at this site by Kumaradevi was also religiously significant.

Govindachandra was a powerful ruler of the Gahadavala dynasty, and his reign is generally placed approximately between 1114 and 1154 CE. Kumaradevi's construction also provides evidence of the continuing importance of Sarnath as a Buddhist religious centre in the 12th century.