Mulagandhakuti. The remains of Buddha's hut in Jetavana Monastery. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India

Srāvastī or Sāvatthī (Hindi: श्रावस्ती), a city of ancient India, was one of the six largest cities in India during Gautama Buddha's lifetime. Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder The city was located in the fertile Gangetic plains in the present day's Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh. The Indo-Gangetic Plain also known as the Northern plains and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, Gonda District is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India, and Gonda town is the district headquarters Uttar Pradesh (उत्तर प्रदेश اتر پردیش pronounced, Translation: Northern Province) referred to as '''U Jetavana monastery was a famous monastery close to Savatthi. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India

Origin of Sravasti

According to the epic Ramayana, Sravasti was a new city created for Lava (the son of Raghava Rama). The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki Among all the Ramas of Sanskrit literature Raghava Rama was the most famous Rama divided his Kosala Kingdom into two parts and installed his son Lava at Sravasti and another son Kusha at Kushavati, another town in Kosala. Kosala Proper or Uttara Kosala is the kigdom of the celebrated personality of Treta Yuga, Raghava Rama. Kushavati was a city in Kosala Kingdom as per epic Ramayana. The king of Kosala Raghava Rama installed his son Lava at Sravasti and Kusha at According to the Mahabharata, the origin of Sravasti lies with the legendary king Shravasta. According to Buddhist tradition, the city was called Savatthi because the sage Savattha lived there. Another tradition says there was a caravanserai there, and people meeting there asked each other what they had ("Kim bhandam atthi?"), then replied "Sabbam atthi" (meaning "we have all things", as in everything). A caravanserai ( kārvānsarā, Turkish kervansaray) was a roadside Inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey And the name of the city was based on the reply^[1].

Sravasti in the Buddha's time

Savatthi was located on the banks of the river Aciravati (now called the Rapti river). It was the capital city of the kingdom of Kosala, and its king was called Pasenadi, who was a disciple of Buddha. Pasenadi ( Sanskrit: Prasenajit (c 6th century BCE was a Aikṣvāka dynasty (a dynasty founded by King {{IAST|Ikṣvāku}}) ruler of Kosala. It is a beautiful city with vast amounts of agriculture and diversity. Buddhaghosa says ^[2] that, in the Buddha's day, there were fifty seven thousand families in Savatthi, and that it was the chief city in the country of Kasi Kosala, which was three hundred leagues in extent and had eighty thousand villages. Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa was a 5th century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar Kosala ( Sanskrit: कोशल was an ancient Indian region corresponding roughly in area with the region of Oudh in the present day Uttar Pradesh He stated the population of Sávatthi to have been 180 million ^[3]. The road from Rajagaha to Savatthi passed through Vesali, and the Parayanavagga ^[4] gives as the resting places between the two cities: Setavya, Kapilavatthu, Kusinara, Pava and Bhoganagara. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Kapilavastu is the name of an region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kushinagar or Kusinagar (26 Pava was a city in ancient India, at the time of Gautama Buddha. Further on, there was a road running southwards from Savatthi through Saketa to Kosambi. Ayodhya (अयोध्या IAST Ayodhyā) is an ancient city of India, the old capital of Awadh, in the Faizabad district Kosambi ( Pali) or Kausambi ( Sanskrit) was one of the greatest cities in India in the Buddha 's time (500 BC Between Saketa and Savatthi was located Toranavatthu^[5].

The Buddha passed the greater part of his monastic life in Savatthi. His first visit to Savatthi was at the invitation of Anathapindika, whom he met in Rajagaha. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of The main monasteries in Sravasti were the Jetavana and the Pubbarama. Savatthi also contained the monastery of Rajakarama, built by Pasenadi, opposite Jetavana. Not far from the city was a dark forest called the Andhavana, where some monks and nun went to live. Outside the city gate of Savatthi was a fisherman's village of five hundred families^[6].

Anathapindika's Stupa in Sravasti

The chief patrons of the Buddha in Savatthi were Anathapindika, Visakha, Suppavasa and Pasenadi^[7]. Anathapindika ("feeder of the orphans or helpless" was the chief lay disciple of Gautama Buddha. Anathapindika ("feeder of the orphans or helpless" was the chief lay disciple of Gautama Buddha. Viśākhā, also referred to as Migara's mother ( Migāramāta) was one of the chief female lay disciples of the Buddha. Pasenadi ( Sanskrit: Prasenajit (c 6th century BCE was a Aikṣvāka dynasty (a dynasty founded by King {{IAST|Ikṣvāku}}) ruler of Kosala. When Bandhula left Vesali he came to live in Savatthi.

Woodward states^[8] that, of the four Nikayas, 871 suttas are said to have been preached in Savatthi; 844 of which are in Jetavana, 23 in the Pubbarama, and 4 in the suburbs of Savatthi. Nikāya is a word of meaning 'collection' 'assemblage' 'class' or 'group' in both Pali and Sanskrit. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India These suttas are made up of 6 in the Digha Nikaya, 75 in the Majjhima Nikaya, 736 in the Samyutta Nikaya, and 54 in the Anguttara Nikaya. The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya "Collection of Long Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the first of the five Nikayas or collections The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas The Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttaranikāya "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the fourth of the five Nikayas or The Commentaries state that the Buddha spent twenty five rainy seasons in Sávatthi, this leaving only twenty to be spent elsewhere. A wet season or rainy season is a Season in which the average Rainfall in a region is significantly increased Of the 25 rainy seasons Buddha lived in Sravasti^[9], he spent 19 in the monastery named Jetavana, and 6 in the monastery called Pubbarama. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India Thus, Sravasti is the place where Buddha lived the longest amount of time, and it is the place where he gave the largest amount of discourses and instructions.

Savatthi is the place where the Twin Miracle (Pali:Yamaka Patihara) took place, in which Buddha made a demonstration of his supernatural powers for the purpose of silencing certain believers of other faiths who proclaimed that the Buddha was incapable of performing supernatural miracles. Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. The Buddhist commentarial tradition says that Savatthi is the scene of each Buddha's Yamaka pátiháriya^[10]; Gotama Buddha performed this miracle under the Gandamba tree.

The Chinese Pilgrim Hiouen Thsang found the old city in ruins, but recorded the sites of various buildings^[11]. See also Xuanzang (fictional character Xuanzang ( pronounced Shwan-dzang) was a famous Chinese Buddhist Monk, scholar traveler

Current Sravasti

Pilgrimage to Buddha's Holy Sites
The Four Main Sites
Lumbini · Bodh Gaya Sarnath · Kushinagar
Four Additional Sites
Sravasti · Rajgir Sankissa · Vaishali
Other Sites
Patna · Gaya   Kosambi · Mathura Kapilavastu · Devadaha Kesariya · Pava Nalanda · Varanasi
Later Sites
Sanchi · Ratnagiri Ellora · Ajanta Bharhut
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Of the ancient Savatthi the city walls are still standing. The most important places of pilgrimage in Buddhism are located the Gangetic plains of Northern India and Southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Lumbini ( Sanskrit: sa लुम्बिनी "the lovely" is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya (Hindi बोधगया is a city in Gaya district in the This article is about a place in India For H P Lovecraft 's fictitious city see The Doom That Came to Sarnath. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kushinagar or Kusinagar (26 WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Sankassa (also Sankasia, Sankissa and Sankasya) was a city in India at the time of Gautama Buddha, thirty leagues from Savatthi. Vaishali or Vesali ( Pali) was a city the capital of the Licchavis and the Vajjian Confederacy. Paṭnā ( Hindi: पटना is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited Gaya[[http //gayabihnicin/]] is a city in Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District. Kosambi ( Pali) or Kausambi ( Sanskrit) was one of the greatest cities in India in the Buddha 's time (500 BC Mathura ( IAST mathurā)( Hindi: मथुरा is a holy City in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kapilavastu is the name of an region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. Devadaha was a township of the Sākiyans (nowadays Nepal) It is near Kapilvastu. Kesariya is a small city in Bihar, India. It is famous for being the site of (possibly the biggest Stupa of India, built by King Ashoka Pava was a city in ancient India, at the time of Gautama Buddha. Nālandā is the name of an ancient University in Bihar, India. Varanasi ( Sanskrit: वाराणसी Vārāṇasī, pronunciation) also commonly known as Benares ( or Banaras (बनारस Sanchi is a small Village in Raisen District of India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Ratnagiri was once the site of a mahavihara or major Buddhist monastery in the Brahmani and Birupa river valley in Jajpur district of Orissa, India. Ellora ( Marathi: Verul is an archaeological site 30 km (186 miles from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra Bharhut or Barhut, is a location in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, Central India, known for its famous Buddhist Stupa. Within these, the remains of 3 ancient buildings can be visited: Angulimala's stupa, Anathapindika's stupa, and an old temple dedicated to a Jain Tirthankara. Angulimala (Pāli "garland of fingers" is an important early figure in Buddhism, particularly within the Theravada school Anathapindika ("feeder of the orphans or helpless" was the chief lay disciple of Gautama Buddha. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. In Jainism, a Tirthankar (" Fordmaker " (also Tirthankara or Jina) is a Human being who achieves enlightenment (perfect Outside of Savatthi is located the stupa where the Twin Miracle (Pali:Yamaka Patihara) took place. Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. The site of Jetavana monastery is the main pilgrim destination, with meditation and chanting mainly done at the Gandhakuti (Buddha's hut) and the Anandabodhi tree. A pilgrim is one who undertakes a Pilgrimage, literally 'far afield' Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness Chant (from Old French chanter) is the Rhythmic speaking or Singing of Words or Sounds often primarily on one or two Buddhist monasteries from the following countries have been constructed at Sravasti: Thailand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Tibet and China.

Anandabodhi tree in Jetavana monastery. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India	Gandhakuti (Buddha's hut) in Jetavana.	Stupa of Angulimala. A stupa (from Sanskrit and Pāli: m स्तूप stūpa, literally meaning "heap" is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist Angulimala (Pāli "garland of fingers" is an important early figure in Buddhism, particularly within the Theravada school	Scene in Jetavana. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India
City walls of Sravasti, with ancient city gate.	Place (Stupa) of the Twin Miracle.	Scene in Jetavana, showing some small stupas. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India	Buddhist monks meditating under the Anandabodhi tree. A Bhikkhu ( Pāli) or Bhiksu ( Sanskrit) is a fully ordained male Buddhist Monastic.

External links

• Entry on Savatthi in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names
• Description of Sravasti by the Chinese pilgrim monk Faxian (399-414 AC)
• Suttas spoken by Gautama Buddha concerning Sravasti: (more)

1. Angulimala Sutta - About Angulimala
2. Maha-Rahulovada Sutta - The Greater Exhortation to Rahula''

notes

1. ^ SNA. Faxian ( Traditional Chinese:法顯 Simplified Chinese:法显 Pinyin ：Fǎxiǎn also romanized as Fa-Hien or Fa-hsien) (ca Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder i. 300; PSA. 367
2. ^ Sp. iii. 614
3. ^ SNA. i. 371
4. ^ SN. vss. 1011 13
5. ^ S. iv. 374
6. ^ DhA. iv. 40
7. ^ DhA. i. 330
8. ^ KS. v. xviii
9. ^ DhA. i. 4
10. ^ DhA. iii. 205; cf. Mtu. iii. 115; J. i. 88
11. ^ Beal, op. cit. , ii. 1 13

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