New Delhi – Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,  has inaugurated the Grand International Exhibition of Holy Piparhawa Remains, associated with Lord Buddha, at the Rai Pithora Cultural Complex in Delhi on Saturday.

The exhibition, titled ‘Prakash and Kamal: Relics of Awakened Person’, showcases sacred relics, including the ashes of Buddha and artifacts linked to his life.

Following the discovery of the relics at Piprahwa (in today’s Uttar Pradesh) by William Claxton Peppe in 1898, portions were distributed globally, with a part gifted to the King of Siam (now Thailand), another one taken to England, and a part preserved at the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now Kolkata), the Ministry of Culture said.

A selection of the relics retained by the descendants of Peppe – who was of British descent – was listed for auction on May 7 last year by Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

However, the auction was halted, and the relics returned to India in 2025 through “decisive intervention by the ministry, supported by Buddhist communities worldwide, it said.

Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative pillars there. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature.

According to Buddhist legends, Siddhartha Gautam attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya (India), and spent several decades teaching and building a monastic order. He passed away in Kushinagar, India.