Bhutan King and Queen visit holy Buddhist shrine in Varanasi

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife Jetsun Pema visited the holy Buddhist site in Varanasi.

Wangchuck and his wife Pema planted a Bodhi sapling in the Sarnath Temple of Varanasi and subsequently held prayers along with the Buddhist monks.

"Bhutan king came here and visited the holy dome of Lord Buddha and he also offered prayers at the main temple. He worshipped the Bodhi tree," said a Buddhist monk Ashok Mitra.

Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema landed in India on Sunday and proceeded to pray at the Buddhist shrine of Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya, where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.

A group of delegates from Bhutan also accompanied the royal couple.

The deer park in Sarnath which is 13 kilometers from Varanasi is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna.

Another Buddhist monk Bante Shivali said that people from across the world visit Sarnath which is spiritually significant.

"The history of Sarnath is significant since the period of Lord Buddha. For the past 2600 years, this place spiritually important for the entire world because Lord Buddha enlightened his first five disciples from Sarnath," said a monk Shivali.

Lord Buddha had gone from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath about five weeks after his enlightenment.