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31,000 devotees see Buddha relics at Tawang; IAF flies them to Bomdila next
The relics travel by Indian Air Force aircraft on 8 November and will be open for darshan at Bomdila until 13 November.
A total of 31,000 devotees and visitors saw the sacred relics of Shakyamuni Buddha at Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh during a seven-day exposition that ended on 7 November, the Ministry of Culture said.
The relics now move to Bomdila, the next stop on a tour that ends back in Delhi on 21 November.
The Tawang leg
The exposition was organised by the Ministry of Culture with the Arunachal Pradesh government and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi. It was held at Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, also known as Tawang Monastery.
The relics arrived on 31 October from the National Museum, New Delhi. Chief Minister Pema Khandu received them in the presence of Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The ministry said devotees came from all blocks of Tawang district and neighbouring areas, and that Buddhist monks, senior citizens and the public paid their respects.
Exhibitions and a conference
Khandu inaugurated two exhibitions at the monastery. One, organised by the IBC, was titled "Unearthing the Sacred Piprahwa: The Story of the Holy Buddha Relics and Their Discovery" and covered the discovery of the Piprahwa relics in 1898. The other, "Crossroads of Dhamma: Classical Legacies, Living Art, and Anthropological Perspectives", was curated by the National Museum.
On 2 November, the IBC held an international conference at the Kalawangpo Convention Centre, Tawang, on "Buddhism: Dissemination in the Himalayan Region and Beyond". It brought together scholars, religious leaders and representatives from India and several other countries.
What happens next
- 8 November: the Indian Air Force flies the relics to Bomdila. After a brief halt at Upper Gompa, they will be enshrined at TGL Monastery (Lower Gompa).
- 8 to 13 November: public darshan at Bomdila.
- 14 to 20 November: public darshan at the Golden Pagoda, Namsai.
- 21 November: the relics return to the National Museum, New Delhi.
Photos
Source: official release by the Ministry of Culture, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (08 NOV 2026 11:44AM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: 31,000 Devotees Seek Blessings of the Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2334086) issued by the Ministry of Culture on 08 NOV 2026 11:44AM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.31,000 Devotees Seek Blessings of the Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
