SHRAVASTI GULI
27.516700,82.050000
Description
Three, most likely of fabulous but »very deep / unfathomable gulis« or ditches (note 1), fissures, fosses, gulfs (CUNNINGHAM 1865: 262), holes (note 2), or pits, where –>Devadatta, –>Kokalika and –>Chancha involuntarily passed alive into to the underworld / hell, are situated east and south of Jetavana, a monastery that was located in a forest at a distance of about 1.5 km (XUANZANG: five or six li; FAXIAN: 1200 pu or paces) from Shravasti (note 3), the former capital that was already mostly in ruins when the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim XUANZANG (648 for 629-645) travelled in India in the early 7th century A.D. WATTERS (1905, 1: 391) finds it worthy to note that »Fa Hsien [FAXIAN, ca. 400 A.D.] did not see any pit here. The latter describes the spots as having marks of identification given to them by men of subsequent times.« SITUATION 2001: »Getting to Shravasti is a tough haul. From Faizabad [N26°47': E082°08'] take a bus (Rs 32, two hours) to Gonda [N27°08': E081°56'] and from there you can take a bus to Balrampur [N27°26': E082°11'] and another bus to Shravasti [N27°31': E082°03'], but they are not too frequent. A better option is to hire a jeep taxi to Gonda which will take you to Shravasti and back for Rs 600 (the round trip travelling time from Gonda to Shravasti is three hours)« (LONELY PLANET, North India 2001: 449-450; LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 383). SITUATION 1997: »Shravasti … can be reached from Gonda, 50 km north-west from Ayodhya. The nearest railway station is Gainjahwa, on the Gonda Naugarh Gorakhpur loop. The nearest large town is 20 km away at Balrampur« (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 436). SITUATION 1900: SMITH (note 4) opted for placing Sravasti in Nepal. SITUATION 1863: CUNNINGHAM (note 5) identifies Sravasti with ruins near »Sahet Mahet« (the villages Saheth and Maheth) on the southern bank of Rapti (note 6).
NOTE 1: »These three ditches are unfathomable in their depth; when the floods of summer and autumn fill the lakes and ponds with water, these deep caverns show no signs of the water standing in them« (BEAL 1884, 2: 9-10). NOTE 2: GROUSSET (1929, 1932, 1957, 1971, 1977; 1986: 141) notes »holes« were Devadatta (–>Devadatta Chasm) and a girl (–>Chancha Chasm) tumbled to hell because they calumniated the virtue of Buddha. NOTE 3: »Sravasti« (SMITH 1905: 339) or »Shravasti« (LONELY PLANET, India 2001: 449-450; LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 383), which is not only positioned as Srabasti and Sravasti but also as Mahet, Sahetha-Mahetha, Saheth-Maheth, Seth Mahet, and Set Mahet near N27°31': E082°03' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), is indicated as »Shrawasti« in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 23 H4. NOTE 4: SMITH (1900 in: WATTERS, T 1905, 1: 379 note 1) comes to the conclusion that Sravasti lies in the district of Khajura in Nepal, a short distance to the north of Balapur and not far north-north-east from Nepalganj. SMITH (1905: 339): »As to the position of Sravasti [XUANZANG 648, VI, chapter Shi Lo Fu Shi Ti], I have no doubt that the ruins lie on the upper course of the Rapti in Nepalese territory, near the point where the river emerges from the hills. The Achiravati River, which flowed past the city, seems to be the Airavati, or Rapti. Similarly, the river at Kusinagara is called both Ajitavti and Airavati, and that river is the little Rapti. Mr. Watters' description of the mountains, caves, and hill at Sravasti offer additional proof that the city lay close to the foot of the Himalaya.« NOTE 5: Not only BEAL (1884, 2: note 1) after CUNNINGHAM (1865: 261-262) and CUNNINGHAM (1871a: 331seq) but also WATTERS (1905, 1: 378 note 4) after CUNNINGHAM (1871b: 409) in WATTERS (1905, 1: 378 note 4) agree in believing that »the exact correspondence of the position of these three tanks [water reservoirs]with the three great fissures or gulis of the Buddhist legends offers a very strong confirmation of the correctness of identification of the Joginibaria mound with the great Jetavana monastery.« NOTE 6: Rapti river N26°17'34”: E083°40'16” (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 74.9 | CHILLIKOT (Cave of) | ||
| 79.8 | HARE KRISHNA PAHAR GUFA | ||
| 80.8 | CHAMERE GUFA, Dangdeukhuri | ||
| 113.9 | PANDU KHANI | ||
| 123.9 | GURJA KHANI | ||
| 124.0 | OKHARBOT | ||
| 128.3 | KANCHI KO KHOPI | ||
| 141.3 | SIDDHESHWAR GUFA, Ridi | ||
| 141.6 | DHOBAN WATER TUNNEL |