Known as Savatthi in the ancient times when it was capital of Kosala Mahajanapada, Sravasti is an important Buddhist and Jain Pilgrimage. As the legend goes, it is believed that Lord Buddha spent his 24 monsoons in Sravasti where he turned King Koshal into a believer by showing him the miracle of enlightenment on lotus of 1000 petals. The ancient town of Shravasti now in ruins, was one of the biggest towns in India, in its prime.
The city of Shravasti lay in the fertile Gangetic plains and was inhabited by as much as fifty four thousands families. It was from Shravasti that Buddha started on his missionary work to the different parts of the world. Shravasti tour packages Uttar Pradesh are equally popular among Buddhist and Jain pilgrims, as it is among secular tourists who have an interest in ancient history and civilizations.Shravasti Tour Packages In India gives you the rare treat of walking along ruins, to get saturated with the aroma of history with all those remains of a city lying all around you.
To think that the old brick plinths and foundations once formed the base for many an important religious or social buildings; to think that thousands of people once thronged these streets to have a glimpse of the luminous Lord Buddha, is sure to give you gooseflesh.
Tour Packages To Shravasti In Uttar Pradesh are often part of a tour of the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit that includes Nalanda, Rajgir, Bodhgaya, etc. On Shravasti Tour Packages In Uttar Pradesh In India you visit the remnanats of the Jetvana Monastery constructed by the follower of Buddha- Sudatta on land bought from King Jetavan.
Shravasti holds special significance to the Buddhists also because it is supposed to be the place where Buddha converted King Koshal and the ruthless dacoit Angulimalai into his disciples. The virtuous king Ashoka, who had also become a great follower of Buddhism visited this place and erected 2 pillars on either side of the Jetavana Monastery, where Buddha is said to have spent 24 monsoons of his life.
Sravasti play host to the sacred pipal tree, a sapling from the original Maha Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha attained nirvana which is at Bodhgaya. Today, on tour packages to Shravasti Uttar Pradesh, you can see at Jetavana- two monasteries, six temples and five Stupas. Sravasti is not famous as only a Buddhist Pilgrimage centre.
Shravasti also came under the influence of Lord Mahavira the last Jain Tirthankar, with the ascent of Jain kings to the throne. The splendid Shwetambara temple here attracts thousands of Jain pilgrims all the year round. The Sobhnath Temple is believed to be the birthplace of the Jain Tirthankar Sambhavnath.
The best way to reach Shravasti is from Lucknow. Lucknow is well connected by air, road and rail to the rest of the country. From Lucknow you can travel to Shravasti by road or by train up to Gonda and then by road.