The Significance of holy relics of Buddha, sent on exposition to Mongolia

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Last Updated16/06/2022

FOUR HOLY Relics of Lord Buddha from the National Museum are now in Mongolia, on an 11-day exposition for Mongolian Buddha Purnima celebrations.
A 25-member delegation is accompanying the relics, which are being displayed at the Batsagaan Temple in Gandan Monastery complex in Ulaanbaatar.

The four Buddha relics come from among 22 housed at the National Museum.
Together, they are known as the 'Kapilavastu Relics'.
They are from a site in Bihar believed to be the ancient city of Kapilavastu. The site was discovered in 1898.
According to Buddhist beliefs, Lord Buddha attained salvation at age 80 in Kushinagar,now in Uttar Pradesh.
The Mallas of Kushinagar cremated him, and the relics from the funeral pyre were collected and divided into eight shares for erecting stupas over the sacred relics.
Two more stupas came up-one over the urn in which the relics had been collected and the other over the embers.
Stupas erected over the bodily relics (saririka stupas) are the earliest surviving Buddhist shrines.
It is said that emperor Ashoka opened up seven of the eight stupas, and collected a major portion of the relics for enshrinement within 84,000 stupas he built.

The discovery of a casket in 1898 at the stupa site in Piprahwa (near Siddharthnagar) helped identify the site with the ancient Kapilavastu.
An inscription on the casket's lid refers to the relics of Buddha and his community.
Further excavation of the stupa in 1971-77 brought to light two more steatite relic caskets, containing a total of 22 sacred bone relics, which are now under the care of the National Museum.
This was followed by the discovery of more than 40 terracotta sealings from different levels and spots in the eastem monastery at Piprahwa.
These were in the Brahmi script of 1st and 2nd centuries, providing further evidence that Piprahwa was the ancient Kapilavastu.

During the 11-day visit, the relics are being accorded the status of a "state guest" in Mongolia.
They have been taken in the same climate control case in which they are currently at the National Museum
The Indian Air force has made available a C-17 GlobeMaster for the trip. Two bulletproof casings and two ceremonial caskets are being carried by the Indian delegation.
In 2015, the Holy Relics were placed under the 'AA' category of Antiquities and Art Treasures, which should not be ordinarily taken out of the country for exhibition, considering their delicate nature.
But upon the request of Mongolian government, the government has made a special exception.
The Kapilavastu relics have been taken out of India only six times in the past.

Although he was born in Lumbini, Nepal, Buddha spent most of his life in India.
He attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. It is from here that Buddhism spread to China, Tibet, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
It is this aspect that the present government has embarked upon highlighting through various diplomatic, cultural and tourism initiatives.
In 2016, the Ministry of Tourism announced the Buddhist Circuit as the country's first transnational tourism circuit, Covering sites in Nepal and Sri Lanka alongside those in India.
There are around 490 million Buddhists across the world and since Buddha lived only in India in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, those in the government feel a big chunk of these tourists should be attracted to India more than China and other south Asian neighbours.