Millions pay homage to Kapilavastu Relics

By Manjula FERNANDO

The flow of people to the temples did not seem to cease. The aged and handicapped, the young and old, the haves and have-nots, all in a single file, thronged the venues where the Sacred Kapilavastu Relics exposition was held.

There were no class or caste barriers. Everyone was one in their desire to venerate the Relics brought to Sri Lanka as a goodwill gesture from India - after 34 years. This was the grand finale of the programs lined up by the Government to celebrate the 2600th Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi.

Every day of the 25-day exposition at 10 venues, from August 19 to September 12, the queues only got longer. On the last day, when they were brought to the Katunayake airport directly from the Kelani Raja Maha Vihara, people in their thousands surrounded the VIP lounge of the departure terminal, expecting a glimpse of the Relics before they left the shores of Sri Lanka.

On August 19 a special Indian delegation led by Indian Cultural Affairs Minister Kumari Selja, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport with the Relics, on board a special Indian Air Force flight. Amid pirith chanting by 100 bhikkhus at the airport, President, Mahinda Rajapaksa accompanied by Maha Nayaka Theras of the three Chapters, waited to receive the Sacred Relics.The Sacred Kapilavastu Relics are believed to be some of Gautama Buddha’s original remains. Buddhists the world over pay homage to them with much devotion and respect. These Relics are believed to be from the Buddha's funeral pyre, given to relatives of the Sakya clan of Kapilavastu.

Historical chronicles record that after the Buddha’s Parinibbana (Passing Away), the Holy Relics were taken from the cremation site and divided into eight portions by Drona the Brahmin, and handed over to separate groups for veneration.

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta penned in the Fifth Century BC, a part of the Buddha’s bodily relics were handed to the Sakyas of Kapilavastu. These came to be known as the Kapilavastu Relics. They were discovered in 1898 from a site believed to be in the ancient city of Kapilavastu.Reporting to The Hindu on the arrival of the most sacred relics, its Colombo correspondent wrote, "The President, walking barefoot, carried the relics, which have been accorded the status of a head of state, from the tarmac to the VIP lounge where about 100 senior monks chanted pirith (Sinhala word for protection from all directions). After the chanting, they were taken in a procession to Kelaniya." According to The Hindu report, Sri Lanka's Maha Sangha residing at several sites associated with the life of Gautama Buddha, had performed a special religious ceremony and offered Buddha Pooja at the Indian Air Force Base in Delhi, prior to the departure of the Relics. Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam and the High Commission staff had attended the event.

After the first exposition of Kapilavastu Relics in Sri Lanka in 1978, they were taken to Mongolia in August 1993, Singapore in July 1994, South Korea in 1995 and Thailand in 1996. Then taking into consideration their inestimable value and delicate nature, the authorities in India decided that the relics would remain as a venerable object at the National Museum of India in New Delhi and not be taken out of India until an exception was made on a request of President Rajapaksa during a state visit in 2010.

The exposition was originally planned at seven venues and scheduled to conclude on September 5. This was extended by one week at the special request of the Government and three additional venues were added.During the 25 days of the exposition at 10 venues, over 3.5 million Sri Lankans (15 percent of the total population of Sri Lanka) paid homage to the Sacred Relics.