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Śramaņa, Vol 60, No. 1/January March 2009
Thus, we see that Śrāvastī attracted the lay- followers of all contemporary religious sects including Buddhism, Jainism, Ājivikas and even Brahmanism or Hinduism. It was also a great place of learning. Mrs. Rhys Davids, the great Indologist, has conjectured Śrāvasti as "the earliest Emporium for the collection and preservation of the Talks."2? Her comments seems to be totally true. We are informed that "of the four Nikāyas; 871 suttas are said to have been preached in Śrāvastī; 844 of which are in Jetavana, 23 in Pubbārārām and 4 in the suburbs. These suttas are made up of 6 in the Digha Nikāya, 75 in the Majhima Nikāya, 736 in Samyutta Nikaya and 54 in the Anguttara Nikāya."24
This sacred place has now unmistakably been confirmed with Sahet-Mahet situated in Baharaich district of Uttar Pradesh.?It was Gen. Cunningham who began to excavate this town in 1863 A.D. and he discovered the image of References: 1. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, Vol. II, p.
1126-27. 2. Ibid, p. 720. 3. Bhiksuņi Vinaya, p. 5; see for detail (Singh,
A. P. Singh, Jaina and Bauddha Bhuksuņi Samgha, Parshwanath Vidyapeeth, Varanasi,
1986. pp. 7-11) 4. Buddhist Records of the Western World (S.
Beal), Vol. I, p.22. 5. Ibid, Vol. III, p. 213. 6. Bhikṣuņi Vinaya, p. 158. 7. Āvasyaka Niryukti, Verse 327. 8. Brhatkalpa Bhāsya, Vol. III, verse 3272-74. 9. Jñātādharmakathā, 148-53. 10. Prakrit Proper Names, Vol. II, p. 781. 11. Uttarādhyayanasūtra, Chapt. 23. 12. Digha Nikāya, 2/10; Sariskriti Sandhāna, Vol.
XVI, p. 27-29.
Bodhisattva of Kuşāņa period, now kept in Lucknow museum. Sir John F. Marshall has also discovered the lower-half of a life-size status of a Bodhisattva. The pedestal of this status bears an early Kuşāņa inscription which states that it was presented at Jetavana of Srāvasti. After him, several noted Indologists such as Veneta, Holey, Vogal, Daya Rāma Sahni. J.F. Marshall did their job with utmost care and consequently the numerous ruins of Vihāras, stūpas, temples, Buddhist, Jaina and Hindu images for worship belonging to fourth century B.C. upto 12th century A.D. came into light. The Sahet-Mahet Plate2h of Govinda Chandra of Gaharwal dynasty, dated Vikram samvat 1186 (1122 A.D.) assures us that this place was Jetavana as its 191h - 20h line confirms its name. This place in recent year has attracted the monks as well as lay-followers of Buddhist, Jaina and Vedic, researchers as well as tourists and fortunately it is being developed as a prominent centre of tourism.
13. Rājapraśniya, p. 239-72. 14. Kalpasūtra, p. 214. 15. Vividhatirthakalpa (Śrāvastikalpa), p. 16. 16. Brhatkathākośa, Chapter 156. 17. Bhagavati, 539-40; Kalpasūtra-vrtti, p. 37. 18. Āvaśyaka Cūrni, I, p. 282. 19. Bhagavati, 542. 20. Ibid, 555-6; Āvaśyaka Cūrņi, I, p. 299. 21. History and Doctrines of the Ājivikas, p. 50. 22. Ibid, p. 51. 23. D.P.P.N., Vol. II, p. 1127 24. Ibid, see for detail, Kindred Sayings of Wood
Ward, 5. XVIII. 25. Ancient Geography of India (Cunningham),
p. 469, Geographical Dictionary of Ancient
& Medieval India (N.B. Dey), 189. 26. Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XI, p. 20-26.
