Wishesh June 2015 Online E-Magazine

Mrigadava means “deer-park”.
Isipatana is the name used in the
Pali Canon, and means the place
where holy men (Pali: isi, Sanskrit:
rishi) landed.
The legend says that when the
Buddha-to-be was born, some
devas came down to announce
it to 500 rishis. The rishis all rose
into the air and disappeared and
their relics fell to the ground.
[citation needed] Another
explanation for the name is that
Isipatana was so called because
sages, on their way through the
air (from the Himalayas), alight
here or start from here on their
aerial flight (isayo ettha nipatanti
uppatanti cati-Isipatanam).
Pacceka Buddhas, having spent
seven days in contemplation in
the Gandhamadana, bathe in the
Anotatta Lake and come to the
habitations of men through the air,
in search of alms. They descend
to earth at Isipatana. Sometimes
the Pacceka Buddhas come to
Isipatana from Nandamulakapabbhara.
Xuanzang quotes the
Nigrodhamiga Jataka (J.i.145ff)
to account for the origin of the
Migadaya. According to him the
Deer Park was a forest given
by the king of Benares of the
Jataka, where deer might wander
unmolested. The Migadaya was socalled
because deer were allowed
to roam about their unmolested.
Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit
Saranganatha, which means “Lord
of the Deer,” and relates to another
old Buddhist story in which the
Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his
life to a king instead of the doe the
latter is planning to kill. The king is
so moved that he creates the park
as a sanctuary for deer. The park is
still there today.
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