Destination Features

Sravasti, a quaint little town located 76 kilometers from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is among few places, which Gautam Buddha chose to stay and showed his powers during his lifespan of 80 years. The town can be reached from Gonda via Balrampur (known for sugar mills), which is about 26 kilometers before Sravasti.

It is history that makes Sravasti a fascinating town. According to legends, this quaint little place traces its connections to the period of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to the Ramayana, Sravasti was created for Lava, the son of Lord Rama, and Mahabharata refers Sravasti to the king Shravasta.

Today, Sravasti is known for its association with the Buddha than anything else. It is frequented by Buddhists from across the country and different parts of the world. Sravasti is part of the Buddhist circuit, which includes other places of Buddhist interest.

The Buddha Connection

During the times of the Buddha, there lived a rich merchant named Sudatta. He was a noble soul and used to help poor. Once he went to Rajgir where his father in-law had invited Buddha for a meal. Sudatta met Buddha there and was really impressed by his enlightened philosophy. He requested Buddha to come to Sravasti and bless the place with his presence. Buddha accepted his invitation.

Now Sudatta began looking for a suitable place to build a vihara for the Buddha. He found a park, which was owned by Jeta, the prince of Sravasti. It was a beautiful place and Sudatta went to ask Jeta if he would give this park to build a retreat for the Buddha. Jeta though agreed but asked him to fill the park with gold coins. It is said that Sudatta put 18 crores of gold coins to fill the park. This changed Jeta’s mind and he not only handed over the park but also helped Sudatta in building the retreat for the Buddha.

Today, the park is known as Jetavana and ruins of the Vihara remain here. It is the focal point of Sravasti, where tourists and pilgrims make a beeline to the beautiful park. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha performed miracles by levitating on thousands of lotus petals.