In a landmark gesture of spiritual diplomacy, India is sending the sacred relics of Lord Buddha to Russia’s Kalmykia Republic for public veneration at the 3rd International Buddhist Forum in Elista, from 24 to 28 September 2025. This marks the first-ever exposition of these revered relics in Europe’s only Buddhist-majority region.
The relics, housed in New Delhi’s National Museum, will be transported with full ceremonial honour aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft. A high-level delegation led by Uttar Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Keshav Prasad Maurya, and senior monks from India and abroad will accompany the relics, including eminent Tibetan Buddhist leaders such as H.H. 43rd Sakya Trizin Rinpoche and H.E. 13th Kundeling Taktsak Rinpoche.
The centrepiece of the forum, themed “Buddhism in the New Millennium,” will be the enshrinement of the relics at Kalmykia’s Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery—also known as the Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha. Alongside, four curated exhibitions will showcase Buddhist art and history, including artefacts from Nalanda and Piprahwa, the ancient capital of the Shakya clan.
India’s Ministry of Culture and the International Buddhist Confederation will also present the Mongolian Kanjur—a 108-volume Buddhist scripture set—to nine institutes and a university. A Russian-language AI chatbot named Norbu will be unveiled to help spread Buddhist teachings digitally.
This exposition follows similar international journeys of Buddha’s relics to Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam in recent years. For Kalmykia’s Buddhist community, the arrival of these sacred remains is a moment of profound cultural and spiritual significance, reinforcing centuries-old ties between India and the wider Buddhist world.
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