Piprahwa Gems Return to the Public Eye After a Century Outside India
Piprahwa Gems Return to the Public Eye After a Century Outside India
Piprahwa Gems Return to the Public Eye After a Century Outside India
Delhi hosts the first public display of the Piprahwa gem reliquary, containing Buddha relics and returned after 127 years. The exhibit, opened by PM Modi, highlights Buddhist heritage shaped by colonial excavations.
The ancient gems connected to the Buddha were revealed on Saturday in Delhi for the first time since they were taken during the colonial era. The Piprahwa gems, a collection of over 300 valuable stones and ornaments thought to have been buried with Buddha's relics at a stupa site in northern India, were officially displayed at an exhibition in New Delhi.
"This historic event marks the reunification of the Piprahwa gem relics of Lord Buddha, repatriated after 127 years," the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
It noted that they are on display for the first time since British excavations in 1898 uncovered them, after which they were scattered around the globe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the exhibition, called it a very special day for those who cherish history, culture, and the ideals of the Buddha.
The Buddha, who gave up material wealth to live and teach a life of non-attachment, founded a religion with more than 500 million followers. Born in what is now Nepal, he spent much of his life in northern India.
"For India, the sacred relics of Bhagwan Buddha are not merely artefacts, they are a part of our revered heritage and an inseparable part of our civilisation,"
The prime minister said at the event, attended by Buddhist scholars, diplomats, and others.
After a wait of one and a quarter centuries, he stated, India's heritage has returned, and India's sacred legacy is back home. The wisdom and path shown by Bhagwan Buddha belong to all of humanity, he added. Modi also expressed gratitude to the Godrej Group for helping ensure that the relics of Buddha came back to his homeland.
In the year 1898, British Engineer William Claxton Peppe found the gems, nearly 200 years old, buried at Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh. Archaeologists unearthed this collection in the site of Piprahwa during excavations that Peppe conducted. During excavation, archaeologists recovered a casket with an inscription verifying that it contained the cremated remains of the Buddha and other sacred items.
Most of the gems recovered were sent to the British Colonial Government when England controlled India; however, a small number were kept by Peppe. Chris Peppe, grandson of Peppe, planned to sell the collection at auction at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in May of 2025 with a starting bid of $1,200,000, and many experts believe that the value of the gems could be in excess of $10 million.
However, the Indian Ministry of Culture declared the auction invalid and stated that the gems belonged to India and the greater Buddhist Community, and ordered that the bidders be removed from the auction. Godrej Industries Group, a conglomerate in India, along with the Indian Government, purchased the gems at an undisclosed amount.
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