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

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 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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Image credits:
Ashoka_with_his_Queens_ By Ashokha - Wikimapia [1], CC BY-SA 3.0,(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannati... )
War over the Buddha's Relics, kept by the city of Kushinagar, South Gate, Stupa no.1, Sanchi By Asitjain - Detail of, CC BY-SA 3.0, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#... )
Stupas_and_monasteries_at_Sanchi_in_the_early_centuries_of_the_Christian_era https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#... By Percy Brown (1872-1955), Public Domain,
Sanchi Stupa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#... By Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0,
Sanchi_Stupa_No2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#... By Kevin Standage - Licensed through agreement by e-mail on 8 March 2018
The division of the relics of the Buddha, Zenyōmitsu-Temple Museum, Tokyo. Personal photograph, 2005.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_..., Public Domain,
Lord_Buddha_-_Hair_Relics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_... By AKS.9955 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_B... By Photo Dharma from Penang, CC BY 2.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhis... By Photo Dharma from Sadao, CC BY 2.0
King Ashoka (right) visits the Ramagrama Stupa, Southern gateway, Stupa 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramagra... By Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand CC BY 2.0,
Ramagrama stupa at present day Nepal as on 2.10.80 by Laxman Burdak CC BY 2.0, https://www.jatland.com/home/File:Ram...
Foreigners_at_Sanchi_Stupa.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#... By User:Gangulybiswarup, CC BY 3.0
The steatite box that contained the Bimaran casket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_..., CC BY-SA 3.0
Prasat Angkor Wat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... By sam garza, CC BY 2.0
Hōryū-ji in Ikaruga Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... By 663highland - Own work, CC BY 2.5
Jade Dragon Temple, Sibu, Sarawak., Malaysia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... By Wingsancora93, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... By Kyaw.m.naing, CC BY-SA 3.0
Maha Stupa at Thotlakonda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thotlak... By iMahesh, CC BY-SA 4.0


Music credits: Mayank Kapri    / pahadisingshere  
Editing : Anand Gautam
Asst. Editor: Pallak Dugar