{"id":5894,"date":"2026-01-12T11:35:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/?p=5894"},"modified":"2026-01-12T11:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:53:21","slug":"buddhas-jewel-relics-a-civilizational-heritage-and-treasured-legacy-returns-after-127-years-to-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/?p=5894","title":{"rendered":"Buddha\u2019s Jewel Relics a Civilizational Heritage and Treasured Legacy Returns after 127-years to India"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Delhi. The Grand International Exposition \u201cThe Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One\u201d the holy jewel relics of the Buddha was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at the historic Fort \u2018Rai Pithora\u2019, a 1052 – c.1060 CE ancient complex, known as the “First city of Delhi”. The exposition will run for the next three-months.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Curated under the theme \u201cThe Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One,\u201d this landmark exposition brings together for the first time in over a century the most comprehensive assemblage of the sacred Piprahwa Relics, the Piprahwa Stupa in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. It is the site believed to be associated with ancient Kapilavastu, the homeland of Gautama Buddha. It is believed that the Buddha’s own Sakya clan had built this stupa to honour the holy relics of their ‘illustrious kinsman’ Gautama Buddha.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking on the occasion, the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi said: \u201cAfter a wait of 127 years, India\u2019s heritage has returned, and the nation\u2019s treasured legacy has come back home. From today, the people of India and Buddhists worldwide will have the opportunity to view and pay reverence to these holy relics and seek blessings from the \u2018Awakened One\u2019 during the public viewings. India stands firm as a protector and preserver of the Buddhist global heritage,\u201d he said.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The display showcases over 80 exceptional objects, dating from the 6th century BCE to the present day. These include sculptures, manuscripts, thangkas, ritual objects, reliquaries, and jewelled treasures. At its core is the monolithic stone coffer in which the sacred relics were originally discovered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discovered in 1898, by British civil engineer William Claxton Pepp\u00e9 the Piprahwa relics, the mortal remains of the Buddha, hold a central place in the archaeological study of early Buddhism. These are among the earliest and most historically significant relic deposits directly connected to Shakyamuni Buddha.\"\"<\/span>Enshrined by His followers around the 3rd century BCE, they have long held immense spiritual value for the global Buddhist community and represent one of the most important archaeological discoveries in India\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n

The inauguration was attended by senior government elected representatives, ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, ambassadors, venerable Buddhist monks, senior government officials, scholars, heritage experts, members of the art fraternity, students, and followers of Buddhism from India and abroad.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The 1898 excavated relics at Kapilavastu, and later excavation findings from the 1972\u201375 were partly preserved at the Indian Museum, Kolkata, and a large portion were in the private collection of the Pepp\u00e9 family in the UK. The latter were slated for auction in Hong Kong, in May 2025. However, the sacred artefacts were successfully secured by the Ministry of Culture following the decisive intervention of the Government of India that halted their auction abroad, reflecting the Indian Government\u2019s unwavering commitment to preserving India\u2019s cultural and spiritual heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on the appropriation of holy relics and other cultural heritage objects, Prime Minister Modi said that \u201cslavery went beyond political and economic control, it eroded cultural heritage too. The departure of the holy relics from India and their eventual return are both significant lessons. These relics were mere antique pieces to be auctioned by those who took away our heritage. But they are our revered deity, an inseparable part of our civilization, therefore India prevented the auction.\u201d\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, India\u2019s global engagement has increasingly drawn upon its civilisational and spiritual heritage and as a result to-date, 642 antiquities have been repatriated to India, with the return of the Piprahwa relics representing a landmark achievement in heritage preservation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Modi said that the shared Buddhist heritage is proof that India is not merely connected through politics, economy and diplomacy but through deeper bonds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are connected through mind and emotions, through faith and spirituality. India is not only the custodian of Lord Buddha\u2019s sacred relics but also the living carrier of his tradition. Relics of Lord Buddha from Piprahwa, Vaishali, Devni Mori and Nagarjunakonda are a living presence of Buddha\u2019s message,\u201d he said. He also mentioned instances where India has helped other countries in restoration and conservation of Buddha sites of historical importance.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Delhi. The Grand International Exposition \u201cThe Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One\u201d the holy jewel relics of the Buddha was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at the historic Fort \u2018Rai Pithora\u2019, a 1052 – c.1060 CE ancient complex, known as the “First city of Delhi”. The exposition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260112-WA0009.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5894"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5903,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894\/revisions\/5903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesasian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}