Ancient Piprahwa gems linked to Buddha return to India after 127 years
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New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi has announced the return of well-known ancient gems linked to the Buddha’s remains to India, two months after Indian government halted their auction in Hong Kong.
Indian government secured the repatriation of the Piprahwa gems after 127 years, with PM Modi stating in an X post that it was ‘a joyous day for our cultural heritage’.
Earlier the India’s culture ministry threatened to take legal action ‘for violations of cultural heritage laws’ after Sotheby announced the gems’ auction.
Following which, Sotheby’s postponed the sale of the gems in May.
The gems are believed to have been imbued with the presence of the Buddha, thus treating them as corporeal remains.
The Indian government and Godrej Industries Group in a public-private partnership secured the purchase of the gems.
The ministry said the gems would be formally unveiled in special ceremony and placed on public display.
Referencing the return of gems, PM Modi wrote: ‘It would make every Indian proud that the sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years. These sacred relics highlight India’s close association with Bhagwan Buddha and his noble teachings. It also illustrates our commitment to preserving and protecting different aspects of our glorious culture.’
William Claxton Peppé, British colonial landowner, excavated the gems on his estate in northern India in 1898.
When his three descendants decided to sell the gems , Buddhist leaders, devotees and academics came out in protest.
Expected to sell at about HK$100m (£9.7m), the 334 gems include amethysts, coral, garnets, pearls, rock crystals, shells and gold.
In about 240-200BC, the gems were buried, mixing with the remains of the Buddha who died in approximately 480BC, in a funerary monument called a stupa in Piprahwa in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
The British government claimed gems under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act.
Later, Peppé was allowed to retain a fifth of the find, while most the 1,800 gems went to the Indian Museum in Kolkata.
Sotheby expressed happiness at facilitating the historic return of the gems to India.
