November 1, 2018
This is known as Lat Bhairav. According to our resident scholar Deepak Anand: “Chinese monk-scholar Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang, 7th CE) mentions about the presence of an Aśokan stūpa and pillar on the west side of River Barnā (now Varṇā) on the way from Vārānasī to the Deer Park (Sārnātha). Vincent Smith (1848-1920) has identified Lāt Saraiyā on the west banks of River Varṇā as the place mentioned by Xuanzang. According to Smith, the mosque at Lāt Saraiyā is built over the remains of the Aśokan stūpa while the Aśokan pillar mentioned by Xuanzang is being worshiped as Lāt Bhairav (Staff of Lord Shiva). ”
This was a highly auspicious day, we believe we were the first Buddhists to chant and then circumambulate, what was once the Ashokan Pillar in a very long time.
A Hindi watching the monks chant inside the small enclosure
Monks chanting around, what was once, presumably an Ashokan Pillar
This small, once Buddhist, now Hindi, shrine is surrounded by a rather large Muslim complex. On one side is a graveyard, and on the other, a large structure, whose use, I could not determine.
We were there during prayer time
When we were finished we took a group shot. This is rather an important photo, the Hindi gentleman can be seen on the far right, and the man in the very front is Muslim. I felt a sense of awe at what I was seeing on this day.