The four relics come from 22 relics of Buddha, currently kept in the National Museum of Delhi. Together they are known as the “Kapilvastu relics” because they come from a site in Bihar believed to be the ancient city of Kapilvastu.

The site was discovered in 1898.

The sacred relics

At the age of 80, according to Buddhist beliefs, Buddha attained salvation in Kushinagar district, Uttar Pradesh. The Mallas of Kushinagar cremated his body with ceremonies worthy of a universal king. His relics from the funeral pyre were collected and divided into eight parts to be divided among the Ajathsatrus of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vaishali, the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, the Mallas of Kushinagar, the Bullies of Allakappa, the Mallas of Pava, the Koliyas of Ramagrama and a Brahman of Vethadipa. The purpose was to erect stupas over the sacred relics. Two more stupas appeared – one above the urn in which the relics had been collected and the other above the embers.

The stupas erected on the bodily relics of Buddha (Saririka stupas) are the earliest surviving Buddhist shrines. It is said that Ashoka (272-232 BC), being an ardent follower of Buddhism, opened seven of these eight stupas and collected most of the relics to enshrine them in 84,000 stupas built by him for the purpose of popularizing Buddhism. such as the worship of stupas.

The Kapilavastu Relics

The discovery of an inscribed coffin in 1898 at the site of the Piprahwa stupa (near Siddharthnagar of UP) helped identify the place with ancient Kapilavastu. The inscription on the lid of the coffin which refers to the relics of Buddha and his community, the Sakya, reads: “Sukiti bhatinam sa-bhaginikanam sa-puta-dalanam iyam salila nidhare Bhaddhasa bhagavate sakiyanam”.

Top view of Holy Buddha relics from 4th to 5th century BC, Piprahwa (Ancient Kapilavastu) district, Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. (Photo: National Museum, New Delhi)

This roughly translates to: “This sanctuary for the relics of the Buddha, the Augustus, is that of the Sakyas. The brothers of the distinguished, in association with their sisters, their children and their wives.

According to the archives of the Ministry of Culture, this discovery was followed by numerous explorations. A further excavation of the stupa by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1971-77 – in addition to revealing three stages of construction – unearthed two more soapstone relic coffins, containing a total of 22 sacred bone relics, which are now in the custody of the National Museum.

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This was followed by the discovery of more than 40 terracotta seals of different levels and locations in the eastern monastery of Piprahwa saying, “Om Devaputra Vihare Kapilavastusa Bhikshu Sanghasa”, which means “community of Kapilavastu Buddhist monks living in Devaputra Vihara”, and “Maha Kapilavastu Bhikshu Sanghasa” in 1st and 2nd century Brahmi script, which establish that Piprahwa was the ancient Kapilavastu.

Safety to travel

During the 11-day visit, the relics will be granted “state guest” status in Mongolia and will be taken to the same climate-control box in which they are currently kept at the National Museum.

For the visit, the Indian Air Force has provided a special aircraft, the C-17 GlobeMaster, which is among the largest aircraft available in India. Two bulletproof envelopes as well as two ceremonial coffins are transported by the Indian delegation for the two relics.

In 2015, the Holy Relics were placed in the “AA” category of antiquities and art treasures that should not normally be taken out of the country for display, given their delicate nature. But at the request of the Mongolian government, the government made a special exception and allowed the display of the holy relics in Mongolia.