Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana
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The relics of Sariputta and Moggallana refers to the cremated remains of the Buddhist disciples Sariputta (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ''Śāriputra'';
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: ''Sāriputta'') and
Moggallana Maudgalyāyana ( pi, Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra ('), and Mahākāśyapa ( pi, ...
(Sanskrit: ''Maudgalyāyana''; Pali: ''Moggallāna''). Sariputta and Moggallana (also called Maha Moggallana) were the two chief disciples of
the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, often stylized as the right hand and left hand disciples of the Buddha respectively. The two disciples were childhood friends who ordained under the Buddha together and are said to have become enlightened as ''
arahants In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
''. The Buddha declared them his two chief disciples, after which they assumed leadership roles in the Buddha's ministry. Both of the chief disciples died a few months before the Buddha near the ancient Indian city of Rājagaha in what is now
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, and were cremated. According to Buddhist texts, the cremated remains of the disciples were then enshrined in ''
stupas A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...
'' at notable monasteries of the time, with Sariputta's remains being enshrined at
Jetavana monastery Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
and Moggallana's remains being enshrined at Veḷuvana monastery. However, as of 1999 no modern archaeological reports have confirmed this, although in 1851 discoveries were made at other sites. In 1851, British
archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
Major
Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
and Captain Fredrick Maisey discovered relics attributed to the chief disciples during excavations of ''stupas'' in the Indian cities of
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen, Raisen town, dist ...
and
Satdhara Satdhara is the name of an archaeological site consisting of stupas and viharas, located 9 km west of Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. There are in all four groups of stupas surrounding Sanchi within a radius of twenty kilometers: Bhojpur and ...
. Scholars have theorized that the relics were enshrined in ''stupas'' near Rajagaha after the disciples' deaths but were redistributed by later Indian kings such as King
Asoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
. Following the discovery, the Satdhara relics were sent to the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London in 1866, while the Sanchi relics are said to have been lost when a ship carrying the remains sank. Following a Buddhist
revival movement Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
in South Asia in the late 19th century, Buddhist organizations including the
Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...
began pressuring the British government to return the relics to Asia so they can be properly venerated, with the British government eventually conceding. The relics were sent to
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in 1947, where they were on display at the Colombo Museum for nearly two years, and then were put on tour around parts of Asia starting in 1949. The relics were then divided up and permanently relocated in 1952, with portions being enshrined at the
Kaba Aye Pagoda Kaba Aye Pagoda ( my, ကမ္ဘာအေးစေတီ; ; also spelt Gaba Aye Pagoda; lit. World Peace Pagoda), formally Thiri Mingala Gaba Aye Zedidaw, ), is a Buddhist pagoda located on Kaba Aye Road, Mayangon Township, Yangon, Myanma ...
in
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, Burma, the Maha Bodhi Society temple in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, Sri Lanka, and the Chethiyagiri Vihara in
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen, Raisen town, dist ...
, India.


Sariputta and Moggallana

Sariputta and Moggallana were considered to have been the two chief disciples of the Buddha. Sariputta was considered the disciple who was foremost in
wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
and Moggallana was considered the disciple who was foremost in
psychic powers This is a list of alleged psychic abilities that have been attributed to real-world people. Many of these abilities pertain to variations of extrasensory perception or the ''sixth sense''. Superhuman abilities from fiction are not included. Psyc ...
. Buddhist texts relate that Sariputta and Moggallana were childhood friends who became spiritual wanderers in their youth. After having searched for spiritual truth under different contemporary masters, they came into contact with the teachings of the Buddha and ordained as monks under him, after which the Buddha declared the friends his two chief disciples, together described in the ''Mahāpadāna Sutta,'' as "the chief pair of disciples, the excellent pair" (Pali: ''sāvakayugaṁ aggaṁ bhaddayugaṁ''). Texts describe that the two friends became ''arahants'' and played a key leadership role in the Buddha's ministry, including being tasked with the training of the Buddha's other disciples. Sariputta was considered the Buddha's right hand disciple, while Moggallana was considered his left hand disciple. According to Buddhist texts, Sariputta and Moggallana both died a few months before the Buddha. Accounts of Sariputta's death state that he died peacefully in his hometown and was cremated in the city of Rājagaha. Sariputta's brother, Cunda, then brought his relics to the Buddha in
Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...
, where they were enshrined in a ''stupa'' at
Jetavana Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
monastery. Accounts of Moggallana's death state that he died violently, dying after being beaten by a group of bandits in a cave near Rājagaha. Buddhist texts state that Moggallana's relics were then collected and enshrined in the Veḷuvana monastery near Rājagaha. Over the succeeding centuries reports from Chinese pilgrims such as
Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
indicated that the relics could be found in the Indian city of
Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
in stupas built by Emperor
Asoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
.


Excavation of the lost relics

As of 1999, no archaeological reports had confirmed findings of the relics of the chief disciples at the sites mentioned by either Chinese pilgrims or Buddhist texts. However, a 19th century British excavation did result in the discovery of relics attributed to the chief disciples in other locations.


Sanchi relics

In 1851, British
archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
Major
Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
and Captain Fredrick Maisey were exploring a site in
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen, Raisen town, dist ...
, near
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, which was known for its many Buddhist ''stupas'', also called "Topes", dating back to the 3rd century BCE. Attempts to excavate the ''stupas'' had been done in the past by Sir
Thomas Herbert Maddock Sir Thomas Herbert Maddock (18 May 1792 – 15 January 1870) was a British civil servant in India and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1852 to 1857. Life Maddock was the son of the Rev. Thomas Maddock and Emily ...
, who breached the outside of the ''stupas'' but was unable to reach the center. Cunningham and Maisey instead excavated the sites by going in perpendicular through the middle of the ''stupas'', allowing them to successfully open and explore several ''stupas'' in Sanchi. During the expedition, Cunningham and Maisey excavated ''Stupa'' number 3 of the site and discovered an undisturbed chamber with two sandstone boxes. Each of the boxes contained a
steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...
casket containing human bone fragments. The lids of the boxes bore
Brāhmī Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...
script, the southern box bore the inscription ''Sariputasa'', meaning "(relics) of Sariputta", while the lid of the northern box bore the inscription ''Maha Mogalanasa'' meaning "(relics) of Maha Moggallana", identifying the bone fragments as belonging to the two chief disciples. The relative positioning of the boxes also had religious significance. Cunningham states that According to Cunningham, people in ancient India sat facing the east during religious ceremonies and even used the word east (''para'') for "front", as well as the word south (''dakshina'') for "right" and the word north (''vami'') for "left", meaning the positioning of Sariputta's casket toward the south and Moggallana's casket toward the north symbolized each disciple's relative positions as right and left hand disciple respectively. This positioning has also been explained by the fact that the Buddha traditionally sat facing the east, which would make the south his right hand side, and the north his left hand side. The box attributed to Sariputta contained a round white steatite casket, more than six inches in diameter and three inches in height. The surface was polished and hard, and the box is believed to have been turned on a
lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...
. Surrounding the casket were two pieces of
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
, which Cunningham believed was from Sariputta's
funeral pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...
. Inside the casket was one single bone fragment nearly one inch long, and seven beads made up of precious stones and metals. The box attributed to Moggallana contained a slightly smaller steatite casket made up of a slightly softer substance. Inside the casket were two bone fragments, the larger one being nearly half an inch long. Each of the caskets had an ink Brāhmī character inscribed on the inner surface of the lid: the Brāhmī character "Sa" (𑀲𑀸) on the casket attributed to Sariputta and the Brāhmī character "Ma" (𑀫) on the casket attributed to Mahamoggallana. According to Cunningham, the ink inscriptions were possibly the oldest ink writings in existence.


Satdhara relics

Following the discovery in Sanchi, Cunningham and Maisey excavated several nearby sites. During an excavation at the city of
Satdhara Satdhara is the name of an archaeological site consisting of stupas and viharas, located 9 km west of Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. There are in all four groups of stupas surrounding Sanchi within a radius of twenty kilometers: Bhojpur and ...
a few miles west, the archaeologists found another pair of steatite relic caskets at Satdhara's ''Stupa'' Number 2, one of a group that was locally called the "Buddha Bhita" or "Buddha Monuments". The caskets were smaller than the Sanchi ones, about three inches in diameter and two inches in height, and each contained several human bone fragments. According to Cunningham, there was evidence that the ''stupa'' had been opened before and concluded that villagers had opened it and then closed it up after finding nothing but bone fragments. Inside the lids of the caskets were inscriptions like those in Sanchi, ''Sariputasa'' meaning "(relics) of Sariputta" and ''Maha Mogalanasa'' meaning "(relics) of Maha Moggallana". The only notable difference between these inscriptions and the ones in Sanchi was the positioning of a Brāhmī vowel, which Cunningham believed was due either to the inscription being done by a different engraver or being done at a different time period. Cunningham theorized that the relics were enshrined in ''stupas'' near Rajagaha after the disciples' deaths until the time of Emperor Asoka, who then redistributed them in ''stupas'' throughout India. Scholars have also theorized that a Sunga king may have also done a similar redistribution and built ''stupas'' such as the one in Sanchi to enshrine them. Cunningham and Maisey spent several months excavating numerous ''stupas'' in the area, but they didn't make any more finds as significant as the findings in Sanchi and Satdhara.


Display in Britain

Cunningham and Maisey later divided their findings among each other, with Maisey bringing the Satdhāra relics to Britain and loaning them to the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
(then called the South Kensington Museum) in London in 1866 along with several other artifacts from Asia. The relics were eventually purchased by the Museum in 1921 from Maisley's son, whose ownership devolved. Cunningham brought his findings to Britain on two ships, one of which sank, thus the Sanchi relics are assumed to have been lost. Scholar of religion , however, argues that Maisey took all the relics with him, and thus the Sanchi relics went to Britain along with the Satdhāra ones. Archeologist Louis Finot notes that Cunningham had no interest in the relics, only in the caskets. In the late 19th century, a Buddhist
revival movement Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
led by the
Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...
began taking place in South Asia. The revival efforts led several Buddhist organizations to begin pressuring the British government starting in the 1920s to return the relics of the chief disciples to India, where they can be properly venerated. The Victoria and Albert Museum rejected the initial requests, which at first came as a series of letters from local English Buddhists. On one occasion, the museum instead offered to allow a small group of local Buddhists to worship the relics at the museum, in response to a request that the relics temporarily be sent to a local Buddhist center for a worship. The museum argued that it also held Christian relics, and that returning the Buddhist relics would result in many museums being forced to return other relics as well. The situation changed in 1939 however, when the museum was informed that the government of India had forwarded a request for the return of the relics on behalf of Buddhist organizations. While museum director
Eric Maclagan Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan (4 December 1879 – 14 September 1951) was a British museum director and art historian. Early years Born on 4 December 1879 in London, Maclagan was the only son of William Dalrymple Maclagan, Archbishop of Yo ...
still argued that doing so would result in being forced to also return their Christian relics, one museum official argued that Britain being a Christian country gives them rights to those relics that they do not have with Buddhist relics. The museum was eventually instructed by the British government to return the relics for diplomatic reasons later that year. However, the transfer was delayed due to the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, due to fear of the relics being lost in wartime transport. After the war ended, the transfer was officially made in 1947 with the relics first being transported to predominantly Buddhist
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in accordance with an agreement made with Buddhist organizations.


Tour of Asia

Following the transfer of the relics from the British, they were put on display at the Colombo Museum (now called the National Museum of Colombo) in Sri Lanka, where they were visited by an estimated two million people across different faiths. The Victoria and Albert Museum originally transferred the relics in plaster casket copies, but after the High Commissioner of India made a request for the original caskets in 1948 the museum transferred the original caskets to Sri Lanka as well. The relics remained in Sri Lanka for nearly two years before being transported to Calcutta, India in 1949, where they were formally received by Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
and officially handed over to the Maha Bodhi Society of India. They were housed at the Dharmarajika Vihara, the headquarters of the Society, for two weeks where they received a constant stream of visitors, many of which Hindu and Muslim. The relics were then put on tour around northern India. In 1950 the relics were sent to Burma for a two month visit. The relics were received in the Burmese city of
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, coinciding with the arrival of other Buddhist relics from Sri Lanka. According to reports of the occasion, most of the city had turned out for the arrival of the relics and the relics received a constant stream of visiting devotees for the month that they were in the city. In the second month of the visit, the relics were put on tour around Burma in a river tour that drew large crowds at the stops, including people from neighboring villages. One thing that was well reported in Burmese news was the visitation of the relics to areas of ethnic minorities, where they were also enthusiastically received. The relics were also taken for exposition in Nepal, Tibet and Cambodia.


Re-enshrinement


Burma

Following the tour of the relics in Burma in 1950, Burmese Prime Minister
U Nu Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
asked India for a portion of the relics for Burma to keep permanently. Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to make a "permanent loan" of a portion of the relics to Burma in what was seen as a gesture of goodwill toward its newly independent neighbor. Burma's portion of the relics arrived from Calcutta in 1951, on the same day as some relics from the Buddha himself. Like the first visit, they were received by a large crowd and were put on tour around the Burma. The relics were then housed in a shrine near Botatuang Pagoda, which was destroyed in World War II and was being reconstructed. Although the Burmese government originally intended to house the relics at the Botatuang Pagoda after reconstruction, following the completion of the
Kaba Aye Pagoda Kaba Aye Pagoda ( my, ကမ္ဘာအေးစေတီ; ; also spelt Gaba Aye Pagoda; lit. World Peace Pagoda), formally Thiri Mingala Gaba Aye Zedidaw, ), is a Buddhist pagoda located on Kaba Aye Road, Mayangon Township, Yangon, Myanma ...
in 1952, Prime Minister U Nu decided to permanently house them at the Kaba Aye Pagoda in
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
instead.


Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka also obtained a portion of the relics, which were brought from Sanchi in 1952 and kept at the temple of the
Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...
in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. The relics are exhibited annually during the local celebration of the Buddha's birthday,
Vesak Day Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival comme ...
. In 2015, the Maha Bodhi Society broke with tradition by showing the relics to
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
outside of the duration of the annual festival. Responding to critics, the head of the society stated that no pope had set foot inside a Buddhist temple since 1984, and added that "religious leaders have to play a positive role to unite
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
communities instead of dividing".


India

The portion of the relics that stayed in India were also enshrined in 1952, at the Chethiyagiri Vihara in Sanchi, which was built by the Maha Bodhi Society specifically to house the relics. The vihara was funded in part by a donation from the
Nawab of Bhopal The Nawabs of Bhopal were the Muslim rulers of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nawabs first ruled under the Mughal Empire from 1707 to 1737, under the Maratha Empire from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 1947, an ...
as well as a land grant from the local
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
government. The relics are shown every year at the annual international Buddhist festival in November. In 2016, the exhibition was visited by Thai princess
Sirindhorn Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, The Princess Royal and Princess Debaratana Rajasuda ( th, มหาจักรีสิรินธร, ; ; born April 2, 1955), formerly Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda Kitivadhanadulsobhak ( th, สมเ ...
.


Legacy

Brekke calls the return of the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana to Asia the greatest achievement and "the most significant historical point of reference" of the
Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...
of India, matched only by the role the society played in the return of relics of the Buddha himself. The relics were received in India in a massive ceremony and their retrieval was highly celebrated. According to Brekke, Indian Prime Minister Nehru saw Buddhism as a peaceful and unifying force for India and the relics of the chief disciples were seen as a symbol of the newly independent country's values of religious tolerance and
non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. In various speeches made at the receiving ceremony for the relics, speakers made comparisons between Indian independence leader
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
and the Buddha. According to art historian
Jack Daulton James (Jack) Daulton (born October 30, 1956) is an American art collector, trial lawyer, music entrepreneur, exploration philanthropist, and expert and lecturer on the history of art and architecture. Daulton rose to fame representing the natio ...
, the visit of the relics to Burma played a significant political role in Burma as well. The newly independent Burmese state promoted a revival of Buddhism in the country, which at the time was dealing with widespread civil strife. The relics helped establish the new Burmese government's legitimacy and had a unifying effect on the country. After the relics visited Burma, Burmese Prime Minister
U Nu Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
stated that "at every place where the relics have been exhibited, most of all in the neighborhoods of disturbed areas, public morale greatly improved." Daulton describes the story of the relics and their influence on various governments as "amazing" given that they were just tiny bone fragments, stating that: "those tiny pieces of bone moved not only millions of devotees worldwide, but national governments as well". Brekke argues that the story of the relics showed a dynamic between archaeology and politics. In the view of curators at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as that of Maisey and Cunningham, the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana had only artistic and historical value, and in that world there was "no place for the religious use of relics", states Brekke. However, in the places where the relics were ultimately enshrined, the significance of the relics was almost entirely religious. In Burma, the enshrinement of the Burmese portion of the relics was met with devotees dropping to their knees in veneration as the relics passed by. In Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan portion of the relics are customarily only taken out for public display and veneration on the Buddha's birthday,
Vesak Day Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival comme ...
, while in India, a fair is held annually at the vihara that houses the Sanchi portion of the relics that is attended by Buddhists all over the world.


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* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Ancient Indian people Sariputra and Mahamoggallana