Shravasti, the north-eastern town of Uttar Pradesh, is located near the West Rapti River. This town is closely associated with the life of Gautama Buddha, who is believed to have spent 24 Chaturmases here. Age-old stupas, majestic viharas and several temples near the village of "Sahet-Mahet" establish Buddha's association with Shravasti. It is being said that the Vedic Bharat period king Sravast founded this town. Shravasti was the capital of the Kosala Kingdom during 6th century BC to 6th century AD. This prosperous trading center was well known for its religious associations. Sobhanath temple is believed to be the birthplace of the Tirthankara Sambhavanath in Jainism, making Shravasti an important center for Jains. According to Nagarjuna, the city had a population of 900,000 in 5th century BCE and it even overshadowed Magadha's capital, Rajgir.
As mentioned in the 'Bruhatkalpa' and various Kalpas of the fourteenth century, the name of the city was Mahid. There are subsequent mentions showing that the name of this city was Sahet-Mahet. It is also mentioned that a vast fort covered this city in which there were many temples having idols of Devkulikas.
Today a great rampart of earth and brick surrounds this city. During excavation in 'Sahet-Mahet' near Shravasti City, many ancient idols and inscriptions were found. They are now kept in museums of Mathura and Lucknow. At present, the archaeological department of the Indian Government is doing excavation to perform allied research
