It was the history of this place, which I had read during my college years in Tokyo, that led me to visit Shravasti. In the days of Lord Buddha, Sudatta, a rich and pious merchant, lived in Sravasti. Once on a visit to Rajgir, he heard the Buddha's sermon and decided to become the Lord's disciple. But he was caught up in a turmoil within his self- although he wished to be the Lord’s disciple, he couldn’t think of forsaking his worldly life. The Master told him that it was enough that he followed his vocation in a righteous manner.

Shravasti is about 160 kms from Lucknow and during the entire drive I was quite restless. I couldn’t bear the patience of waiting till I reached my destination. Finally, my wait was over- my cab came to a screeching halt in front of the Jetavana Vihara. Jetavana has a fascinating history behind it. When Sudatta invited the Lord to Sravasti he decided to build a vihara. As he was looking for a suitable place his attention was drawn to a beautiful park at the southern edge of the city. The park belonged to Jeta, son of the king of Sravati, Prasenjit. Jeta demanded that Sudatta should cover the entire park with gold coins and Sudatta agreed. He paved every inch of the land with gold, but the trees were left bare. Then Jeta said that since the trees were left uncovered they belonged to him. But Jeta changed his heart and donated the valuable wood to build the Vihara. The park was named after the Prince as Jetavana Vihara.

As I explored the park I was drawn towards the spot under the sacred Anandabodhi tree, brought as a cutting from the Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, which itself grew from a sapling of the original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.

I also visited the the ruins of Anandakuti and Gandhakuti, the places where the Lord stayed during his many visits to Jetavana Vihara. In Sravasti, the Master expounded a major part of the Tripitakas. I found the whole ambience being filled with an aura of sacredness.

Close to Jetavana, I saw the Sri Lankan, Chinese, Myanmarese and Thai monasteries and temples and visited all of them. My tour winded up with my visit to the remains of two stupas known locally as Pakki Kuti and Kachchi Kuti at Mahet, on the north of Jetavana.