Overview
- Opened at the Rai Pithora Cultural Complex on January 3, the exposition welcomes the public from January 4 for a multi-month run.
- For the first time since the 1898 discovery, the repatriated pieces are displayed with holdings from the National Museum and the Indian Museum, including bone fragments, crystal caskets, gemstones and a sandstone coffer.
- A Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale slated for May 2025 was stopped after legal notices and diplomatic outreach by the Culture Ministry, supported by global Buddhist communities, leading to the relics’ return in 2025.
- Industrialist Pirojsha Godrej purchased 349 gemstones and loaned a large portion to the National Museum for five years, enabling public display without a government purchase, with the full set to be shown for three months.
- Archaeologists point to Brahmi inscriptions and excavation evidence linking Piprahwa to ancient Kapilavastu, while thematic galleries and immersive media interpret the finds and the broader repatriation effort.