Nearly two months after the Piprahwa relics—a collection of jewels and cremated remains believed to be from the historical Buddha—were returned to India by the auction house Sotheby’s, the sacred artifacts are to be sent on loan to the Republic of Kalmykia, where they will be put on public display at the National Museum in the capital Elista.

Originally removed from India during the British colonial era, around 127 years ago, the Piprahwa relics were repatriated following extensive efforts by the Indian government, private stakeholders, and advocates to halt their international auction. The priceless artifacts resurfaced at an auction in Hong Kong in May 2025. The auction was halted and the relics returned to India on 30 July.

“The exhibition will further India’s cultural outreach and strengthen bilateral ties,” said the deputy chief minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, who will lead a high-level delegation of 35 state officials and senior Buddhist monastics to accompany the relics to Kalmykia. “The display of Buddhist relics will underscore India’s role as the birthplace and custodian of Buddhist heritage. A short documentary on Piprahwa relics will also be screened at the National Museum in Elista.” (The Indian Express)

The exhibition in Kalmykia, which is expected to draw scholars and devotees from around the world, will run from 24 September–1 October. Kalmykia is a majority Buddhist republic in the southwest of the Russian Federation, and the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the predominant religion. The artifacts have previously been exhibited in Thailand and Vietnam.

The relics, which include a collection of small gem fragments, have been dated to the Mauryan Empire in the third century BCE. They were unearthed in 1898 by British landowner William Claxton Peppe during excavations at Piprahwa in northern India, near the border with present-day Nepal. The site is widely recognized as part of the ancient city of Kapilavastu, traditionally identified as the childhood home of Siddhartha Gautama, who would later become the Buddha.

According to India’s Ministry of Culture, the Piprahwa relics were removed from India during the colonial period and eventually entered private collections abroad. The relics surfaced in an auction listing with Sotheby’s in early 2024. India’s Culture Ministry issued a legal notice to Sotheby’s demanding that the sale be canceled and the artifacts repatriated, citing their exceptional religious and archaeological significance.

“I have been given this privilege by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is a feeling of pride to lead the delegation carrying Buddha’s relics, which also include his last remains to Russia,” Maurya noted on Monday. “This visit assumes importance in the backdrop of what the prime minister has said that it is a matter of pride that India has given [the] Buddha to the world; and also considering the growing depth of spiritual and cultural ties with Russia,” (The Indian Express)

The event, organized by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), the National Museum, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), will coincide with the Third International Buddhist Forum in Elista, running from 24–28 September. The forum, to be held under the theme “Buddhism in the New Millennium,” will feature the enshrinement of the Buddha’s relics at Geden Sheddup Choikorling, also known as the “Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha,” Kalmykia’s principal Buddhist monastery.

According to survey data for 2012, 47.6 per cent of the population are Buddhist, 18 per cent follow the Russian Orthodox Church, 4.8 per cent Islam, and 3 per cent follow Tengrism or Kalmyk shamanism. Of the reminder, 9.6 per cent were classified as “other” and undeclared, 8.2 per cent spiritual but not religious, 8 per cent atheist, and 0.8 per cent other Christians.

Tibetan Buddhism is the traditional and most popular religion among the Kalmyks, a Mongolic ethnic group, while the majority of ethnic Russians adhere to Russian Orthodoxy. The Russian Federation includes two other Buddhist republics, Tuva and Buryatia, both of which border Mongolia.

See more

Relics returned to India after ‘colonial’ uproar immediately loaned to Russia (The Telegraph)
Returned by British after 127 years, Piprahwa relics to be exhibited in Russia (The Indian Express)
UP deputy CM Maurya to lead Indian team to showcase Buddha relics in Russia (Hindustan Times)
Lord Buddha is India’s most precious heritage for entire humanity: Keshav Prasad Maurya (The Statesman)
India to organise exhibition of Lord Buddha relics in Russia (ANI)

Related news reports from BDG

India Recovers Ancient Buddhist Relics Removed During Colonial Era
UPDATE: Sotheby’s Postpones Auction of Buddha-Linked Relics Following Indian Government Intervention
Buddha-Linked Relics Head to Auction, Sparking Ethical and Cultural Debate as India Demands Halt to Sale