Sacred Piprahwa relics of Buddha to reach Bhutan tomorrow from India

Thimphu: The sacred Piprahwa relics of Gautama Buddha, bone fragments unearthed from an ancient stupa in northern India, are set to arrive in Bhutan on Saturday. The arrival of relics come even as Bhutan celebrates the Global Peace Prayer Festival, a grand 16-day event timed to celebrate 4th King's birthday next week. The Piprahwa relics have been on expositions in Mongolia (2022) and Thailand (2024), Kalmykia, Russia (2025). The relics come to. Bhutan just days ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Thimphu on November 11, marking his second trip to Bhutan in two years.

Speaking to WION, Bhutan PM Tobgay welcomed the gesture. He said, “India sending Relics, shows we are on the same page when it comes to spiritual collaboration, not just political, development cooperation', adding, 'deeply grateful for PM Modi to receive and worship relics. I see relics being sent as gift of PM Modi, my elder brother, to people of Bhutan.”

Discovered in 1898 at Piprahwa, near the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh, the relics were divided among the Buddha's disciples after his cremation around 483 B.C. A portion found its way to British hands during colonial excavations.

Smuggled abroad, the gems nearly vanished into a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong this May. India's Ministry of Culture intervened decisively, securing their return through a public-private partnership with Godrej Industries. On the sidelines, exhibition will also be organised. “Sacred Legacy of the Shakyas” chronicles the Buddha’s relics, from their 2,500-year-old enshrinement in Indian stupas to their 19th-century rediscovery at Piprahwa and today’s global veneration in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Another exhibition, “Life and Teachings of the Buddha,” will guide visitors from Lumbini, the birthplace garden, Bodh Gaya, the Bodhi tree, Sarnath, where the first sermon was delivered, and Kushinagar, where the parinirvana took place.