Shravasti district | |
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 Location of Shravasti district in Uttar Pradesh | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Division | Devipatan |
| Headquarters | Bhinga |
| Tehsils | Ikauna, Bhinga Jamunaha |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Shravasti |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Shravasti and Bhinga |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,640 km2 (630 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,117,361 |
| • Density | 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 38,649 |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 46.74 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 881 |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Major highways | up state highway 26, SH-96A |
| Website | shravasti |
Shravasti district is one of thedistricts of theUttar Pradeshstate of India, withBhinga town as its district headquarters. Shravasti district is a part ofDevipatan Division. According to Government of India, it is among the 121 minority concentrated districts in India.[1] It is the fourth most backward district in India, according to the 2018Niti Aayog ranking.[2] It is the most poverty-stricken district in the country.
Shravasti, the north-eastern town ofUttar Pradesh, is located near theWest Rapti River. This town is closely associated with the life ofGautama Buddha, who is believed to have spent 24Chaturmases here.[3] Age-oldstupas, majesticviharas and severaltemples near the village of "Sahet-Mahet" establish Buddha's association with Shravasti. According toNagarjuna, the city had apopulation of 900,000 in 5th century BCE and it even overshadowedMagadha's capital,Rajgir.
As mentioned in the 'Bruhatkalpa' and variousKalpas 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 manytemples having idols of Devkulikas.
Today a greatrampart of earth and brick surrounds this city. Duringexcavation 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 theIndian Government is doing excavation to perform allied research.
Shravasti was formed in May 1997 whenBahraich district was divided.
Shravasti is often mentioned in Jaina sources. It is also called Chandrapuri or Chandrikapuri or Ārya Kṣetra, because Jaina texts state that two of their Tirthankaras were born here millions of years ago, in prehistoric times –Sambhavanatha (3rd of 24) andChandraprabha (8th of 24). Shravasti is also known as the capital city ofKunala's kingdom.[4]
Sambhavanatha is said to have had taken initiation, donated all his belongings, and broken his first fast in Shravasti after begging for alms from King Surendradatta.[5][6]Munisuvrataswami, the 20thTirthankara, visited Shravasti and initiated several members of the royal family. As per the Jaina textJnatadharmakathah,Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara, also visited Shravasti and inspired several lay-followers to accept initiation.[7]
Further, Shravasti is the place of the bitter arguments and meeting betweenMahavira – the 24th Tirthankara, andGosala Mankhaliputta – the founder ofAjivikas and a rival. According to the Jain texts, the Mahavira visited Shravasti many times and spent his tenthvarsha monsoon season here before attaining omniscience. He was hosted by a wealthy merchant named Nandinipriya. Ancient Jain scholars such asKapila, Maghavan andKeshi studied in Shravasti.[7] At Shravasti, Jamāli, Mahavira's son-in-law, created the first of the eight heretical sects by opposing tenets ofJainism as taught by Mahavira himself. The eighth heretical sect,Digambara sect, was created bySivabhuti at Rathavirapur.[8] As described in the Jaina textUttaradhyayana Sutra, the discussion betweenKeśiśramanācharya and Mahavira's first disciple,Gautama Swami, is said to have had taken place at Shravasti. This was the place whereUpkeśa Gaccha was established by Keśiśramanācharya after he accepted Mahavira's conduct and became a white-clad monk along with all his disciples who were initially followingParshvanatha's conduct.[9] Moreover, thePattavali described in theKalpa Sūtra, states the existence of "Śrāvastikā Śākhā", one of the four branches of the "Veṣavāṭikgaṇa" of the Jaina sangha. It had originated from Ācārya Kāmardhi, a disciple of Ācārya Suhastisuri, belonging to the beginning of the 3rd century BCE.[10] Ācārya Jinaprabhasuri, in hisVividha Tirtha Kalpa confirms that a Jaina temple with an image ofSambhavanatha was renovated multiple times until it was finally completely desecrated during the reign ofAlauddin Khilji.[11]
Shravasti—part of historicAwadh—was carved out fromGonda district on the south and Bahraich district on the west. Shrawasti also bordersBalrampur on the east, andBanke andDang districts of Nepal to the north. Shravasti district headquartersBhinga is about 170 kilometres fromLucknow, thestate capital.
In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj named Shravasti one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from theBackward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[12]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 285,233 | — |
| 1911 | 284,164 | −0.04% |
| 1921 | 288,905 | +0.17% |
| 1931 | 308,159 | +0.65% |
| 1941 | 336,423 | +0.88% |
| 1951 | 365,107 | +0.82% |
| 1961 | 401,234 | +0.95% |
| 1971 | 444,754 | +1.04% |
| 1981 | 543,835 | +2.03% |
| 1991 | 672,898 | +2.15% |
| 2001 | 855,985 | +2.44% |
| 2011 | 1,117,361 | +2.70% |
| source:[13] | ||
According to the2011 census Shravasti district has apopulation of 1,117,361,[14] roughly equal to the nation ofCyprus[15] or the US state ofRhode Island.[16] This gives it a ranking of 414th in India (out of a total of640).[14] The district has a population density of 681 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,760/sq mi). Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 30.54%. Shrawasti has asex ratio of 881females for every 1000 males, and aliteracy rate of 46.74%. Male literacy rate is 57.16% while that of female is 34.78%. 3.46% of the population lives in urban areas. Approximately 0.11% (1,253 people) of the total population of the district lives on footpath or without any roof cover. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 16.94% and 0.50% of the population respectively.[14]
Shravasti district is Hindu-majority, but has a large minority of Muslims. The district headquarters, Bhinga, is Muslim-majority. Although formerly a centre of Buddhism, only 323 Buddhists live in the district at the present-time.[17]
At the time of the2011 Census of India, 87.55% of the population in the district spokeHindi, 11.17%Awadhi and 1.15%Urdu as their first language.[18] The local dialect is Awadhi.
Cyprus 1,120,489 July 2011 est.
Rhode Island 1,052,567
Places adjacent to Shravasti district | ||||||||||||||||
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27°42′07″N81°56′05″E / 27.701958°N 81.934845°E /27.701958; 81.934845
