Arrival
The day begins with your arrival at Gonda where you are transferred to the hotel. Gonda is a nice place and is known in the tourist circles for being the ideal base to explore a place like Sravasti, a place where Lord Buddha often used to come.

Sravasti
There was a time when Sravasti was the capital of the Kosala Kingdom. The place used to be the largest town in the entire Gangetic plains of north India during the times of Lord Buddha. The most talked about miracle of Lord Buddha was performed here when he created multiple images of himself to bewilder the Tirthika heretics. This theme is very popular among the artists with Buddhist leanings. Buddhism as a religion was very popular in Sravasti even in the lifetime of Buddha.

Lord Buddha spent many summers of his life here when he delivered many of his important sermons. In fact, he was here for 25 years during his annual rain retreat when the entire Sangha used to gather here.

Situated in Gonda district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Sravasti was the place where the Kosala King Prosenjit was turned into a believer by Lord Buddha though he was atheist earlier. The history of the region has slowly been obscured on the ground as well as from the minds of the people though the efforts are on to restore the glory of the place back. A start has been made by building two temples which have been constructed by the Chinese and the Burmese.

Sravasti Attractions
Maheth - The remains of the city have been found on a 400 acres large area which is known as Maheth. Here the excavations have uncovered massive gates and other structures of the city which confirms the fact that Sravasti once used to be a very prosperous city. You'll find here the structures called Pakki Kuti and Kachchi Kuti which were once Buddhist shrines probably although these have now been converted to Brahmanical temples.

Saheth - This is a 32 acre large area located in the south west of Maheth. This was the site where once the Jetvana monastery existed which later became a sacred pilgrimage for the Buddhists. The stupas that you notice here are of the Kushana period whereas the temples are built in Gupta styleof architecture.

Devi Patan Temple - The Devi Patan Temple is an important Shaktipeeth of the region and is considered to be very sacred by the Hindus.

Sobhanath Temple - The revered Jain Tirthankar Sambhavnath, it is said, was born here. The place is visited regularly by the Jain devotees.

Departure
Now that you have seen the place Sravasti where Lord Buddha was present for 25 years during his annual rain retreat, get ready to get back to Gonda as we have to leave for Agra by train.