Thimphu: The sacred Piprahwa relics of Gautama Buddha, ancient bone fragments discovered from a stupa in northern India, will arrive in Bhutan on Saturday. Their arrival coincides with the Global Peace Prayer Festival- a 16-day celebration that also marks the birthday of Bhutan’s Fourth King next week.
The relics’ journey to Bhutan adds a spiritual dimension to the country’s ongoing festivities and comes just ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Thimphu on November 11, his second visit to Bhutan in two years.
Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay expressed deep gratitude for the gesture, describing it as a reflection of the enduring spiritual and cultural ties between the two nations. He said India’s decision to send the relics symbolises a bond that extends beyond politics and development into shared faith and heritage.
The Piprahwa relics were discovered in 1898 in Uttar Pradesh’s Piprahwa region, near the Nepal border, and are believed to be among the remains distributed among the Buddha’s disciples after his cremation around 483 B.C.
Sacred Buddha Relics from India to Grace Bhutan in a Grand Exposition for Global Peace
💠The exposition is part of the Global Peace Prayer Festival (GPPF) in Thimphu, a major event praying for world peace and the healing of humanity and coincides with the 70th birth anniversary…
— PIB India (@PIB_India) November 7, 2025
Once nearly lost to history, the relics resurfaced during British-era excavations and were later smuggled abroad. Earlier this year, they narrowly escaped being auctioned at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong before India’s Ministry of Culture, in partnership with Godrej Industries, successfully intervened to bring them back.
Bhutan will also host exhibitions alongside the relics’ display. One, titled Sacred Legacy of the Shakyas, traces the relics’ 2,500-year journey from their enshrinement in Indian stupas to their rediscovery and global veneration across Asia.
Another, Life and Teachings of the Buddha, will take visitors on a spiritual path through the Buddha’s life- from his birth in Lumbini and enlightenment in Bodh Gaya to his first sermon in Sarnath and parinirvana in Kushinagar.
The relics’ visit, after expositions in Mongolia (2022), Thailand (2024), and Kalmykia, Russia (2025), marks a new chapter in India-Bhutan cultural relations.
