BANGKOK, Feb 22 : Some of the holy relics of Lord Buddha along with those of his disciples Arahata Sariputra and Arahata Maudgalayana reached Thailand from India on Thursday, with Union Minister Virendra Kumar saying that the move will further strengthen the bond of friendship and love between the two nations.
The relics reached Thailand, befitting the status as a ‘State Guest’, Union Culture Ministry officials said.
The relics, revered by Buddhist followers around the world, were ferried in a special Indian Air Force plane earlier in the day.
They will be displayed in Thailand as part of a 26-day exposition starting February 22.
This would be the first time that the holy relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples would be showcased together, the Union Culture Ministry earlier said in New Delhi.
A 22-member delegation, led by Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, accompanied the relics to Thailand.
The holy relics were received with great reverence and ceremoniously at the Bangkok Military Airport by the Minister of Culture, Royal Thai Government, Sermsak Pongpanit, Thai officials and a large number of monks, among other dignitaries, according to the Indian Culture Ministry.
Sermsak Pongpanit and Thai officials, along with the Indian delegation then conducted the relics from the Military Airport to be enshrined at the National Museum, Bangkok, for safekeeping and later to be enshrined in a grand ‘mandapam’ prepared in Sanam Luang Pavilion in Bangkok on February 23.
“People can pay their reverence from Makha Bucha Day onwards,” the ministry said in a statement.
The relics are dated 4th-5th century BC and were found in an excavation at Piprahwa, considered a part of the site of ancient Kapilavastu, by a team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials in the 1970s.
Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan had told a press conference in New Delhi on February 20 that four of the 20 pieces of holy relics of Lord Buddha kept at the National Museum in Delhi will be displayed in Thailand.
He also said that given the ancient ties of India with Thailand, this occasion would also be a “diplomatic achievement” for New Delhi with Bangkok.
The holy relics of Arahata Sariputra and Arahata Maudgalayana were earlier brought to Delhi from Madhya Pradesh’s Sanchi for their onward journey to Thailand.
Union Minister Kumar in Bangkok expressed hopes that “as we embark on a new and more glorious chapter in the bilateral relations between India and Thailand, the arrival of the holy relics will further strengthen the bond of friendship and love between the two countries”.
He said India and Thailand have “always enjoyed strong, multi-dimensional and bilateral relations based on our convergent national interests and priorities”.
“The eternal message of Lord Buddha embodied in the great religion of Buddhism is the most important and unbreakable link between India and Thailand,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The Thai culture minister expressed happiness and gratitude to the government of India for having accepted the request of the Thai government to send holy relics to Thailand for an exposition.
An Exposition Agreement for the Holy Relics was also signed on February 22 between the Department of Religious Affairs, Thailand and the National Museum. The signing of the agreement is another furtherance in the 75 years of longstanding India-Thailand diplomatic relations, the ministry said. (PTI)
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