Monks offer prayers to sacred Buddha relics being taken to Russia
On October 11, 2025, National Museum Director General Gurmeet Singh Chawla announced the departure of a high-level delegation of 11 senior Indian monks, who have offered prayers to the sacred relics of Gautam Buddha before leaving for Russia’s Kalmykia Republic for an exposition, reports 24brussels. The exposition will take place in Elista from October 11 to 18, organized by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with the International Buddhist Confederation, the National Museum, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
The sacred relics, preserved at the National Museum, will be enshrined in the Geden Shedrup Choikorling Monastery in Elista, known as the “Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha.” The monks will also engage with local devotees and conduct religious services for the predominantly Buddhist population in the region.
This Holy Relics exposition marks a first for the Russian Republic and will see reception by prominent figures including the Head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia, Shajin Lama Geshe Tenzin Choidak, and Batu Sergeyevich Khasikov, the Head of the Republic of Kalmykia. The Geden Shedrup Choikorling Monastery, a key Tibetan Buddhist center, was opened to the public in 1996 and is situated within the Kalmyk steppe.
Historically, the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia and interest in Buddha dharma in Russia’s Buryatia, Kalmykia, and Tuva can be attributed to the efforts of the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, a revered monk from Ladakh. During the week, the delegation, led by the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, will host activities including teachings and discourses by His Holiness the 43rd Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, Head of the Sakya Order. Additionally, the presentation of the Holy ‘Kanjur,’ a set of 108 Mongolian religious texts originally translated from Tibetan, will take place, with the International Buddhist Confederation distributing the Kanjur to nine Buddhist institutions and a university, as part of their cultural mission.
