Sravasti

ශාවස්ති නුවර ජෙතවනාරමය
Sravastī or Sāvatthī, a city of ancient India, was one of the six largest cities in India during Gautama Buddha's lifetime. The city was located in the fertile Gangetic plains in the present day Gonda District of Uttar Pradesh near Balrampur some 120 km north of Lucknow. Jetavana monastery was a famous monastery close to Savatthi.

Suganda Kutiya

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. It is a beautiful city with vast amounts of agriculture and diversity. Buddhaghosa says 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. He stated the population of Sávatthi to have been 180 million.

House of  Anathapindikassa

Gandabba Sthupa

The chief patrons of the Buddha in Savatthi were Anathapindika, Visakha, Suppavasa and Pasenadi. When Bandhula left Vaisali he came to live in Savatthi.

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.


The mango-tree, at the gate of Savatthi, under which the Buddha performed the Yamaka-patihariya . The king's gardener, Ganda, while on his way to the palace to give the king a ripe mango-fruit from the palace gardens, saw the Buddha going on his alms-rounds and offered him the mango. The Buddha ate it immediately, and gave the seed to Ananda to be planted by the gardener at the city-gate. A tree of one hundred cubits sprouted forth at once, covered with fruit and flowers. At the foot of this tree Vissakamma, by the order of Sakka, built a pavilion of the seven kinds of precious things.

Outside of Savatthi is located the stupa where the Twin Miracle (Pali:Yamaka Patihara) took place. 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.