Re-examination of Sāheṭh Inscription and Sāheṭh Land Grant: Do They Indicate Sāheṭh Māheṭh to be Śrāvastī?

By : Ramakant Mishra

Page No: 107-139

Abstract
Cunningham identified Sāheṭh Māheṭh with Śrāvastī based on an inscription incised on the base of a bodhisattva statue found in Sāheṭh. The identification was questioned later, when Lumbinī was identified with Pāḍariyā, since the location of Sāheṭh Māheṭh relative to Pāḍariyā did not agree with that of Śrāvastī relative to
Lumbinī. Instead, another spot, Bālāpur, whose location agreed with Pāḍariyā, was identified with Śrāvastī. Subsequently a copperplate Land Grant was found in Sāheṭh, which contained the words: ‘Jetavana mahāvihāra’, the name of a famous monastery of Śrāvastī. This appeared to support the original identification of Śrāvastī with Sāheṭh Māheṭh. Consequently, the location of Śrāvastī remained an unresolved issue. The aim of this study was to re-examine Sāheṭh inscription and Sāheṭh Land Grant to see if they really indicate the location of Śrāvastī. To facilitate understanding, Sāheṭh inscription was compared with two similar inscriptions: Sārnāth inscription and Mathurā inscription. The results indicate that the bodhisattva statues of Sāheṭh, Sārnāth and Mathurā do not depict Buddha, which was believed earlier; rather they depict senior monks of Sarvāstivādin sect. Careful examination of Sāheṭh Land Grant revealed that the place was known as Vāḍā-Caturaśīti, and not Śrāvastī.

Author
Ramakanta Mishra: Fellow of IIM, Ahmedabad.