Shravasti district

Shravasti District is one of the districts of the Uttar Pradesh state of India and Bhinga town is district headquarter. Shravasti district is a part of Devipatan Division. According to Government of India, the district Shravastiis one of the Minority Concentrated District in India on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators [http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=28770] .

Location

Shravasti is a newly created district carved out from districts of Gonda and Bahraich . Besides these two districts, Shravasti shares its border with district Balrampur. Bhinga, the District Headquarter of Shrawasti, is approximately 150 kilometres away from the state capital, Lucknow.

History

Shravasti, the northeastern town of Uttar Pradesh, is located near River Rapti. This town is closely associated with the life of Lord Buddha. It is being said that the mythological king Sravast founded this town. Shravasti was the capital of Kosala Kingdom during 6th century BC to 6th century AD. This prosperous trading center was well known for its religious associations. The 'Sobhanath' temple is believed to be the birthplace of Jain Tirthankar 'Sambhavanath' making Shravasti an important center for the Jainas. According to Nagarjuna, the city had a population of 900,000 in 5th century BCE and it even overshadowed Magadha's capital Rajagriha.

As mentioned in the 'Bruhatkalpa' and various kalpas of the fourteenth century the name of the city was 'Mahid'. There are subsequent mentions showing that the name of this city was 'Sahet-Mahet'. It is also mentioned that a vast fort covered this city in which there were many temples having idols of Devkulikas.

Buddha is believed to have spent 24 monsoons in this city. Age-old stupas, majestic monasteries and several temples near the village of "Sahet-Mahet" establish Buddha's association with Shravasti.

Moreover, Shravasti is the holy land of all the four Kalyanakas – Chayan, Birth, Diksa and Attainment of omniscience of Bhagawan Samabhavanath.

Today a great rampart of earth and brick surrounds this city. During excavation in 'Sahet-Mahet' near Shravasti City, many ancient idols and inscriptions were found. They are now kept in museums of Mathura and Lucknow. At present, the archaeological department of the Indian Government is doing excavation to perform allied research.

External links

* [http://shravasti.nic.in Official district web site]