NEW DELHI: The Holy Relics of Lord Buddha’s two chief disciples, Arhant Sariputra and Arhant Maudgalyayana, returned to India on Wednesday after a 10-day public exposition at the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The exposition, held from May 31 to June 9, was organised by the National Museum of India under the Ministry of Culture in association with the government of Madhya Pradesh, the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, and the International Buddhist Confederation, following a request from the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery. The exhibition was opened to the public on the occasion of Buddha Purnima in Mongolia on May 31.
The Holy Relics were ceremonially handed over on May 30 by the Governor of Assam, Lakshman Prasad Acharya, to Mongolia’s Education Minister Enkh-Amgalan and His Eminence Ven. Khamba Nomun Khan Geshe Lharampa D. Javzandorj of the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery.
The exposition had been announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the state visit of Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa to India in October 2025.
The event highlighted the longstanding civilisational and spiritual ties between India and Mongolia, which are rooted in Buddhism, according to an official statement.
According to the organisers, nearly one lakh devotees from across Mongolia visited the monastery during the 10-day exposition to pay homage to the sacred relics. Mongolia has a population of around 3.4 million.
The relics have previously been sent abroad only to Thailand and Mongolia. Officials noted that an earlier exposition of the Holy Relics of Lord Buddha in Mongolia in June 2022 had also received an enthusiastic response.
Several exhibitions focusing on Buddhism were organised alongside the exposition by the National Museum of India and the International Buddhist Confederation. These included Sariputta and Moggallana – A Journey of Wisdom, Devotion and Relics, From India to Mongolia: The Transmission of Buddha Dhamma Across Inner Asia, and Vessels of Light: Iconography, Relics and Path of Dhamma (Shakyamuni Buddha’s Journey through Museum Collections of India).
The Holy Relics enjoy the status of a Head of State for protocol and security purposes. They were transported to Mongolia on May 30 aboard a special Indian Air Force flight accompanied by an Indian delegation led by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya.
The relics were brought back to India on Wednesday aboard another special Indian Air Force flight, accompanied by a delegation led by the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena. Ceremonial welcome and farewell events were organised at the monastery.
