By IANS,
Kolkata : Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, currently on a visit to the city, would Saturday be carrying home three relics of Lord Buddha from India.
Announcing this at a conference here Friday, Thinley said the relics would remain in Bhutan for a month.
The prime minister was in the city to attend the 114th Annual General Meeting of the Mahabodhi Society.
Thinley, who is the president of the society, thanked the union government for giving permission to take the relics to Bhutan following a request from the neighbouring country.
“The relics will travel to Bhutan at a time when we are preparing for the wedding of our king…. This is very auspicious,” he said.
Monks of the Mahabodhi Society would escort the relics, which include the collar bone of the Buddha and remains of two of his principal disciples — Sariputra and Mahamoggallana.
The relics, housed in Shri Mahabodhi Vihara in Bodh Gaya, have been brought to the city.
Bhutanese king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is slated to marry in October.