India has sent ancient relics of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka for week-long public display as part of a special programme that marks the country’s first-ever international exposition.
The Sacred Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha are scheduled to travel to Colombo on Wednesday via Delhi for public veneration that begins on February 5 at the Gangaramaya Temple. These bone relics are preserved at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat.
A delegation travelling with the relics is being led by the Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghavi, as well as officials of the National Museum, representatives of MS University, Vadodara, and the International Buddhist Confederation.
The relics include ‘asthi’ (holy ashes) of Lord Buddha, a permitted ceremonial robe, and a stone reliquary box with a lid that’s decorated with silver and gold wires and bears inscriptions in Brahmi and Sanskrit reading: “Dashbal Sharir Nilaya”, which means “Place of Lord Budha’s remains”.
These relics are significant as they showcase Buddhist artefacts and sculptures from the Western Satraps period.
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On Sunday, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, described the exposition of the sacred Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha in Colombo as a “rare blessing” for the country, thanking the Government of India for making the historic event possible.
“A rare blessing for Sri Lanka. The sacred Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha are on exposition at Gangaramaya Temple in Sri Lanka – the first ever international exposition of the relics. Grateful to the Government of India and all those who made this possible,” she said in a post on X.
On Saturday, the High Commission of India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said the relics would be travelling to Sri Lanka following an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Pursuant to PM @narendramodi's announcement, the Holy Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha are travelling to Sri Lanka for their first-ever international exposition,” the post said.
During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in 2025, India and Sri Lanka had agreed to further strengthen cultural exchanges between the two nations. The relics are now being displayed during the Buddhist-majority country’s New Year celebrations.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs brief, cooperation between both the countries includes the establishment of the Indian Gallery at the International Buddhist Museum in Kandy; restoration of the Thirukeeteswaram Temple in Mannar; exposition of sacred Kapilavastu relics, which was organised in Sri Lanka in 2012 to commemorate the 2600th year of the attainment of enlightenment by Lord Buddha (Sambuddhatva Jayanthi); etc.
The sacred relics sent to Colombo were first discovered during excavations at a mound near Devnimori, close to Shamlaji in Gujarat. In 1957, Professor S N Chaudhary of Maharaja Sayajirao University identified the site, the government release said, and the ashes were safeguarded near one of Vadodara’s most ancient sites, the Vimleshwar Mahadev temple by Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
Systematic excavations began after 1960 around the mound and nearby areas, confirming the presence of a Buddhist monastery that later declined in the 8th century. The monastery is believed to belong to the Hinayana tradition.
Under the guidance of chief monk Mahasena, monks Agnivarna and Sudarshan constructed a Sharir Stupa near the monastery.
These relics will be on display in Colombo till February 11.
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