Buddha's Sacred Relics Travel to Sri Lanka for Historic First International Exposition

These will be placed at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo.

The Exposition will be held from February 4 to February 11.

The delegation will be led by the Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat and Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Harsh Sanghavi. The delegation will include officials of the National Museum, representatives of the MS University, Vadodara where the Holy Relics are presently placed, and the International Buddhist Confederation.

Earlier, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, on Sunday 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 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," Colonne said in a post on X.

Her remarks came in response to an announcement by the High Commission of India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Saturday, which 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.

According to the announcement, the relics will be open for public veneration from February 5 at Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo.

These relics are significant as they showcase Buddhist artefacts and sculptures from the Western Satraps period. They're now on display in Sri Lanka at the country's first-ever international exposition, underscoring their cultural significance.

According to the MEA brief in terms of cultural relations, the 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 was organised in Sri Lanka in 2012 to commemorate the 2600th year of the attainment of enlightenment by Lord Buddha (Sambuddhatva Jayanthi), etc.

In October 2021, the inaugural Colombo-Kushinagar flight was operated on the auspicious VapPoya Day, during which the sacred Kapilavastu Buddha relics from the Rajaguru Sri Subhuthi Maha Vihara of Waskaduwa were brought to India and displayed in several Indian cities, including Kushinagar and Sarnath.

A statue of Lord Buddha to Dharmayathanaya Temple was presented. In early 2025, India also published the Pali Grammar book 'Namamala' and the Sinhala translation of the Jataka Tales. The Centre for Contemporary Indian Studies (CCIS) has been set up at Colombo University. A long-term ICCR chair for Hindi has been established at Kelaniya and Sabaragamuwa Universities.

- ANI