Colombo, Feb 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday inaugurated the public exposition of the sacred Devnimori relics of Lord Buddha brought from India by making the first floral offering, his office said.
The relics arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo from Gujarat via Delhi in the afternoon and were later taken in a special motorcade to the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya temple following religious observances.
The public will be able to venerate the sacred relics round the clock at the historic Hunupitiya Gangaramaya temple from Thursday until February 11, a press release said.
The exposition coincides with Sri Lanka’s 78th Independence Day, which was marked on Wednesday.
The development followed discussions held between President Dissanayake and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Indian leader’s recent visit to Sri Lanka.
“As a result of these discussions and through the personal intervention of Prime Minister Modi… the sacred Devnimori relics of Lord Buddha were brought to Sri Lanka,” the release said.
“To mark this special occasion, which further strengthens Indo-Sri Lanka ties, the President presented a special commemorative token to the Governor of Gujarat State, Acharya Devvrat,” it said.
The relics include ‘asthi’ (holy ashes) of Lord Buddha, a permitted ceremonial robe, and a stone reliquary box with a lid. The box is decorated with silver and gold wires and bears inscriptions in Brahmi and Sanskrit reading “Dashbal Sharir Nilaya,” meaning “Place of Lord Budha’s remains”.
The relics were discovered during archaeological excavations in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, the home state of Prime Minister Modi.
The excavation was carried out at a stupa within a Buddhist monastic complex, where two relic caskets were unearthed. The relics of Lord Buddha were found in one of them.
An inscription inside the reliquary, which reads “the place where the relics of the Buddha endowed with the Ten Powers are enshrined,” is regarded as strong evidence affirming the sanctity of the relics, officials said.
Until now, the holy relics had been kept under high security at the Baroda Museum and had never been taken outside India. For the first time, devotees in Sri Lanka have been given the opportunity to behold and pay homage to them. PTI CORR SCY SCY
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.