On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c15.7

v1.c15.7

The site of the Śrāvasti of the present passage was long ago confidently identified by Cunningham with that of "the great ruined city on the south bank of the Rapti, called Sahet-Mahet" in which he discovered a colossal statue of the Buddha with an inscription containing the name "Śrāvasti". This identification has been accepted and defended by other investigators, but there are several strong reasons for setting it aside.⁴ These are set forth by Mr V. Smith who, after careful study and personal examination of the districts, has come to the conclusion that the site of Śrāvastī is in the district of Khajūrā in Nepāl, a short distance to the north of Balāpur and not far from Nepālganj in a north-north-east direction.¹ But this proposed identification also has its difficulties, and must await further developments. No discoveries have been made to support the identification, but there seems to be the usual supply of mounds and ruins.