S?ran?tha, a monastic site of world renown had a rather sluggish growth from a humble hermitage at the exterior of the historic city of V?r??as?. Its name been abbreviated from S?ra?gn?tha, meaning the lord of the deer implied to both ?iva and the Buddha, a place, a fair abode of animals and particularly deer offered a perfect solitude for meditation and contemplation. Its growth as a Buddhist monastic site was determined by two incidents. While the Buddha chose it as the place for his first preaching or Dharmacakrapravarta?a, immediately set a Buddhist overtone to the place. It again slipped into oblivion until A?oka, built a stupa here as a part of his programme to propagate Buddhism. The site gained a steady momentum of growth with an eclectic patronage from varied agencies. Epigraphic sources reflect kings, queens, sages, traders and merchants as well as lay people contributed as per their means. Votive st?pas, pillars, statues, railings, lamp posts and even the oil to keep those lamps lighted were all funded by charities of different degrees. Having a solid base of followers, S?ran?tha assumed the form of an organized and structured monastic establishment.