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Ancient stone caskets that stored Buddha’s relics | Sanchi Stupa, India

November 27, 2020

This is the story of ancient stone caskets that contained something very precious; the cremated remains of the great Indian preceptor, Lord Buddha himself! Lord Buddha's ashes and other relics - his hair, teeth, nails and bones, were safely preserved in stone caskets after his death in 483 BCE. Later, during the time of Emperor Ashoka, they were further divided and redistributed at Stupas across the Indian subcontinent. And one of them was the great stupa at Sanchi, which now is a very significant UNESCO World Heritage site. The sculptures at the Sanchi Stupa tell us about the events that immediately followed the death of Buddha. Watch this short video as we trace the journey of Buddha’s cremated remains from Kushinagara nearly 2500 years ago, to locations across the world that have become important Buddhist pilgrimage sites today.

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