Shravasti (also spelt Sravasti, Pali: Sāvatthī) is an ancient city and archaeological site located in the Gangetic plains of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. It was the capital of the Kosala Mahajanapada and is among the most important pilgrimage sites associated with Gautama Buddha, who is traditionally said to have spent a significant number of his monastic years (vassa) here. The remains lie near the modern villages of Sahet and Mahet, in the present-day Shravasti district.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Type | Archaeological site, ancient city |
| State | Uttar Pradesh, India |
| District | Shravasti |
| Identified with | Sahet–Mahet |
| Ancient kingdom | Kosala Mahajanapada |
| Religious associations | Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism |
| Notable monastery | Jetavana |
Shravasti was a major urban centre during the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, when it served as the capital of Kosala under kings such as Prasenajit (Pasenadi). The city was strategically situated on trade routes connecting the eastern and western parts of northern India, and it features prominently in Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical literature. The two principal mounds at the site — Sahet and Mahet — are generally identified respectively with the Jetavana monastery and the walled city of Shravasti proper.
The identification of Sahet–Mahet with ancient Shravasti was established in the nineteenth century by Alexander Cunningham of the Archaeological Survey of India, on the basis of the travel accounts of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Faxian (early fifth century CE) and Xuanzang (seventh century CE), and confirmed through inscriptional and archaeological evidence. The site lies on the south bank of the Rapti river, near the border with Nepal.
In Buddhist tradition, Shravasti was one of the six great cities of India during the lifetime of the Buddha, alongside Rajagriha, Champa, Saketa, Kaushambi and Varanasi. The Buddha is said to have spent twenty-four or twenty-five rainy-season retreats at Shravasti, mostly at the Jetavana monastery built by Anathapindika and the Pubbarama monastery donated by the laywoman Visakha. Several important suttas of the Pali Canon, including portions of the Majjhima Nikaya and Samyutta Nikaya, are set in Shravasti, and it is the traditional location of the Twin Miracle (Yamaka-patihariya) attributed to the Buddha.
Shravasti is also significant in Jainism as the birthplace of the third tirthankara, Sambhavanatha, and is mentioned in connection with Mahavira, who is said to have visited the city. In Hindu epic tradition, Shravasti is associated with the Ikshvaku dynasty and is mentioned in the Ramayana; later Puranic accounts attribute its founding to King Shravasta.
Excavations at Sahet–Mahet have been carried out since the late nineteenth century, beginning with Cunningham, followed by work under the Archaeological Survey of India and, in collaboration, the Japanese Archaeological Mission of Kansai University in the late twentieth century. The findings include:
An inscribed pedestal bearing a colossal standing Bodhisattva image of the Kushana period, dedicated by the monk Bala in the reign of Kanishka, was recovered from Shravasti and is among the important finds linking the site to early Mathura art traditions.
Literary and archaeological evidence suggests that Shravasti continued as a religious centre well into the early medieval period. Xuanzang, visiting in the seventh century CE, described much of the city as in ruins, although the Jetavana area was still an active monastic establishment. The site appears to have been gradually abandoned in subsequent centuries.
Shravasti district was carved out as a separate administrative unit of Uttar Pradesh, with Bhinga as its headquarters. The archaeological site falls within this district and is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. It draws Buddhist pilgrims and visitors from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, South Korea and other countries, and several international Buddhist organisations maintain temples and rest houses near Sahet.
Shravasti occupies a central place in the cultural and religious landscape of early historic India. As a capital of Kosala, it is a key reference point for the political history of the Mahajanapada period; as the setting of much of the Buddha's teaching career, it is one of the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage (ashtamahasthana); and as a Jain tirtha, it preserves traditions associated with Sambhavanatha. The site is also significant for the study of urbanisation, fortification and monastic architecture in the Ganga–Yamuna doab and adjoining region.
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