Burmese Buddhist Temple, Shravasti, Bahraich (Balrampur)

Sahet-Mahet village, 12 km from Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh, which we know today as Shravasti district. It is also the Lok Sabha area of ​​Balrampur district. The Burmese Buddhist Temple is a famous Buddhist place of pilgrimage here. In ancient times, this Kaushal was the second capital of the country. Lord Rama's son Luv made it his capital. It was thoroughly excavated in 1884–85 by Dr. W. Hoey and subsequently in 1862–63, General Cunningham examined these clauses. There are two stupas in these ruins, out of which the elder is known as Mahet and smaller Sahet. Apart from these stupas, ruins of many temples and buildings have also been found. A number of engraved sculptures and terracotta figurines have been found during digging, which are kept as specimens at the State Museum, Lucknow.  An inscription dated 1276 has been found, which suggests that Buddhism was prevalent during this period. The description of Shravasti has come many times in the literature of Buddhist period and Lord Buddha spent 24 Chaturmas in Jetavan here.  Mahavir, the originator of Jainism, also visited the Shravasti. The ancient city was a major city of Kosala district. The other famous city here is Ayodhya. Shravasti Nagar was located on the banks of the river Achiravati, which is identified by the modern Rapti River. Today's Sahet-Mahet situated on the banks of this Sarita is representative of ancient Shravasti. The Vayu Purana and Valmiki Ramayana narrate that Ramchandra ji made his son Kush of South Kosala and Luv of north Kosala as king. According to the Ramayana, the capital of Luv was at Shravasti, in Madhupuri Shatrughna received information that a city named Shravasti for Luv had been settled by Lord Rama and contemplated leaving Ayodhya to heaven.  This description suggests that Ayodhya was devastated after the ascension of Shri Ram and the new capital of Kosala was built at Shravasti. The Ramayana mentions two Kosala cities, North Kosala with Shravasti as its capital, South Kosala as its capital Kushavati. The description of these two capitals is found during the reign of Rama.  Rama made his son Luv the king of Shravasti and Kush the king of Kushavati. Presently, Shravasti is located 10 miles from Balrampur, 58 miles from Ayodhya and 720 miles from Rajgir. Shravasti can be reached via Balrampur and Bahraich districts by road.  Photographs are not allowed inside the temple. As soon as you enter the temple, you get a different joy and the mind gets peace.