India, Pakistan to send Buddhist relics to Sri Lanka for Vesak festival

The Pakistan government has announced to send sacred Buddhist relics to Sri Lanka on the occasion of Vesak, the Sri Lankan prime minister's office announced on Friday.

The relics will be used for a public veneration during the festival and will be kept at the 'temple trees' at Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's residence from April 29 to May 3.

Indian High Commission had also announced on Thursday to send these sacred relics to Sri Lanka.

These relics are being brought from Sarnath in Varanasi and it is going to be a first time that these relics will be kept for public exposition.

Vesak or popularly known as Buddha Purnima will be celebrated on April 29 this year in Sri Lanka and it is celebrated by Buddhist communities around the world to mark the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautam Buddha.

Sarnath has its own significance in Buddhism as it is the place where Buddha preached his first sermon.