NEW YORK, NY – A rare and sacred collection of ancient Buddhist relics, believed to be linked to the cremated remains of the Buddha, has returned to India more than a century after it was first unearthed in colonial-era Uttar Pradesh.

The treasure, known as the Piprahwa collection, was acquired from Sotheby’s by Mumbai-based Godrej Industries Group and will soon be housed permanently at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. The set of roughly 350 gemstones—sapphires, rubies, garnets, amethysts, pearls, and gold—had been scheduled for auction in Hong Kong before the sale was halted following a diplomatic intervention.

The artifacts trace their origin to an 1898 excavation by British engineer William Claxton Peppé, who discovered a stupa on his estate in Piprahwa near the Indo-Nepal border. Hidden in the stupa were over 1,800 gems and bone fragments believed to be the Buddha’s remains, buried between 240 and 200 BCE. An inscribed reliquary urn led archaeologists to conclude the site was one of the original eight stupas that held the Buddha’s ashes after his death in 440 BCE.

Though the bulk of the finds were handed over to the British administration and later transferred to the Indian Museum, Peppé was allowed to retain a portion. It was his descendants who recently consigned a subset—roughly 20% of the collection—to Sotheby’s. The planned sale was estimated to fetch nearly $13 million.

India’s Ministry of Culture objected swiftly, issuing a legal notice in May asserting the relics were part of the nation’s “inalienable cultural and religious heritage.” The sale, it warned, would perpetuate colonial-era dispossession.

After weeks of negotiation, Sotheby’s announced on July 30 that the collection had been acquired by Godrej, effectively ending the dispute and clearing the way for the relics’ return.

“The Piprahwa gems are not just artefacts—they are timeless symbols of peace, compassion, and the shared heritage of humanity,” said Pirojsha Godrej of the Godrej Group, echoing the significance of the moment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the return, calling it a “proud moment” for India. “The sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years,” he posted on X.

@India-West News Desk