Shravasti (District)

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Shravasti District
( Hindi श्रावस्ती ज़िला )
District map
State Uttar Pradesh
Division : Devipatan
Administrative headquarters : Bhinga
Area : 1640 km²
Residents : 1,117,361 (2011)
Website : Shravasti district

The district Shravasti (also Shrawasti or Savatthi , Hindi श्रावस्ती ज़िला ) is a predominantly rural district in the north of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh , which formerly belonged to the historical region Avadh (Oudh) . The administrative center is the city of Bhinga, with a population of around 30,000 .

geography

The Shravasti district lies between the southern foothills of the Himalayan foothills and the Ganges plain . The average height is between 110 and 145  m . The average annual rainfall is around 1300 mm, of which about 90% falls during the summer monsoon season . The Rapti , coming from the northwest, is the only major river in the district.

Neighboring districts are Bahraich District in the west and southwest, Balrampur in the east and Gonda in the southeast; in the north the district borders on Nepal .

Administrative division

Shravasti District is divided into three administrative districts ( tehsils or subdivisions ): Bhinga, Ikauna and Jamunaha. It consists of the two small towns Bhinga (approx. 30,000) and Ikauna (approx. 15,000) and approx. 500 smaller and larger villages.

population

Official population statistics have only been kept and published since 1991.

year 1991 2001 2011
Residents 672,900 855.985 1,117,361

Hindus dominate the rural villages (about 85%); A significantly higher number of Muslims (around 35%) live in the cities . In the decade between 2001 and 2011, the population grew by around 30% to around 1.12 million, with the male population exceeding that of the female population by around 13%. A good 96% of the population lives in rural villages; an average of around 55% of people (even more in rural regions) are illiterate. Mostly Hindi is spoken .

economy

Most of the area of ​​the Shravasti District is still largely agricultural. In the entire district there is only one train station of minor importance ( Chilwariya ); the two main train stations are in the cities of Gonda and Bahraich .

history

View from the Orajhar stupa over the largely flat land and fields
Anathapindika stupa

The fertile area around Shravasti was already at the time of the Buddha and the allegedly born here Jain - Tirtharikaras Sambhavanatha an economically and politically important region in the Kosala -Reich which however soon from Magadha was replaced -Reich from which in the 3rd century. v. The Maurya Empire developed. In the 4th / 5th In the 19th century AD, the region came to the Gupta Empire , which was later replaced by the kings of the Kalachuri dynasty. In the High Middle Ages (from 1206) the Sultanate of Delhi nominally assumed suzerainty and from 1526 the area was under the control of the Mughal Empire . During its decline after the death of Aurangzeb (1707), the governors ( subahdars or nawabs ) founded a de facto independent state, which came under British rule in 1856 . After India's independence (1947), the state of Uttar Pradesh was established. In 1996, the Shravasti district was re-created by the cession of the neighboring districts.

Attractions

Buddha once stayed in the vicinity of the town of Shravasti during the annual monsoon season. Here - 7 years after his enlightenment in Bodhgaya - he is said to have performed the so-called "double miracle " (yamaka-pātihāriya) , during which flames rose from his shoulders and a stream of water sprang from his feet. Several monasteries were built here - perhaps during his lifetime. Foundations of numerous larger and smaller stupas were added later, but their construction took place in the 4th and 5th centuries. Century ended; the older buildings were also no longer maintained and gradually fell into disrepair. In the 19th and 20th centuries, British archaeologists uncovered the earth-covered remains. In the last decades of the 20th century, a number of modern monuments were built, including a 25 m high statue of the enlightened one.

Several old and new Jain temples are also of tourist interest.

literature

Web links

Commons : Shravasti (district)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ District Shravasti - Climate table
  2. ↑ Shravasti District Map
  3. ↑ Shravasti District - Counties and Villages
  4. ↑ Shravasti District - Census 1991 to 2011
  5. ↑ Shravasti District - Census 2011
  6. ↑ Shravasti District - Railway Stations