Buddha Relics Enshrined at Bomdila Monastery in Arunachal

The Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha reached Thubchog Gatsel Ling (TGL) Monastery, also called the Lower Gompa, at Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh on 8 November 2026 and were enshrined there. The relics are open to the public from 8 to 13 November 2026, the second stop of an exposition that is travelling through the state.

Who is organising it

The exposition is the work of the Ministry of Culture, which has put it together with the National Museum in New Delhi, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) of New Delhi. On the opening day about 4,000 devotees came to the monastery for darshan. Monks, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other dignitaries offered prayers, and over the following days the people of the Bomdila constituency and of the constituencies around it are due to visit.

How the relics travelled

The relics were flown from Tawang to Bomdila in an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter, with Bhikkhu Khemachara, Deputy Secretary General of the IBC, and officers of the Ministry of Culture, the National Museum and the IBC accompanying them. They were received at the Army Helipad in Rupa by Pasang Dorjee Sona, Arunachal Pradesh Minister for Education, Tourism, Rural Works Department and Public Libraries, and a Guard of Honour was presented. The procession paused briefly at the Upper Gompa before the relics were taken to the Lower Gompa for enshrinement.

Exhibitions and the earlier leg

Two special exhibitions were opened at the monastery by the state minister in the presence of Padma Shri the 12th Guru Trulku Rinpoche. Mounted by the IBC and the National Museum, they trace the history and the spiritual and cultural heritage tied to Buddhism and to the relics. Bomdila took over from Tawang, where a seven-day exposition at Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, the Tawang Monastery, ended on 7 November 2026 after drawing devotees from every block of Tawang and the areas nearby.

Where the relics go next

After Bomdila the relics move to the Golden Pagoda at Namsai for darshan from 14 to 20 November 2026, and they are then to return to the National Museum in New Delhi on 21 November 2026.