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The Sacred Corporeal Relics of Gautama Buddha that were handed over to the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, according to what is recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, was discovered in 1898.

The Relics were excavated by Alexander Cunningham, the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India, in the late 19th century from ruins in Piprahwa, in present day Bihar. Piprahwa was known as Kapilavastu in ancient Indian history. Historical chronicles record that, after the Buddha’s “Parinibbana” (passing away), the holy Relics taken from the cremation site were divided into eight portions, and handed over to separate groups for preservation. According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta, penned in the fifth century BC, one portion of the Buddha’s bodily Relics was handed to the Sakyas of Kapilavastu. These came to be known as the Kapilavastu Relics.