Why in the News?

The Union Culture Ministry has successfully retrieved the sacred ‘Piprahwa’ Buddhist relics, which were set to be auctioned in Hong Kong.

Piprahwa Relics of Buddha

About the Piprahwa Relics:

Discovery: Unearthed in 1898 by William Claxton Peppe, a British engineer, at Piprahwa (Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh), near the Nepal border.
Historical Significance: Identified as ancient Kapilavastu, capital of the Shakya republic, where Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) lived before renunciation.
Findings at the Site: A buried stupa yielded a large stone coffer containing:
- Bone fragments believed to be Buddha’s relics
- Caskets made of soapstone and crystal
- A sandstone coffer
- Over 1,800 ornaments: pearls, rubies, sapphires, gold sheets
Legal Custody:
- The British Crown claimed the relics under the Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878.
- Most artifacts were transferred to the Indian Museum, Kolkata.

After the Buddha’s death (Mahaparinirvana), his cremated relics were divided among 8 kingdoms and a Brahmin named Drona, who coordinated their distribution.
Each recipient built a Stupa to enshrine their share of the relics, creating important pilgrimage sites and early centers of Buddhist worship.
The 9 stupas were located in Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Allakappa, Ramagrama, Vethadipa, Pava, Kushinagar, and Pippalivana.
Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) redistributed the relics from these stupas into thousands of new stupas across his empire.
The stupa at Ramagrama is unique because it is believed to remain untouched and still holds the original relics.
A typical early Buddhist stupa included a hemispherical mound (anda), a square railing (harmika), a central pillar (yashti) with umbrellas (chatra), and a path for circumambulation (pradakshinapatha).

[UPSC 2023] With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements:

1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.

2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.

3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition. How many of the statements given above are correct?

Options: (a) Only one (b) Only two* (c) All three (d) None