Sri Lanka donates Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha to Republic of Kalmykia
18th November 2011
At the dawn of the cold November morning Buddhist devotees in the Republic of Kalmykia and Russian Federation hurried to the main temple in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, to pay homage to sacred relics of Lord Buddha from Sri Lanka. The sacred relics were sent to Kalmykia by the President of Sri Lanka H.E Mahinda Rajapaksa at a special request of former President of Kalmykia H.E. Kirsan Ilyumshinov during his visit to Sri Lanka. The sacred relics were on display to public homage for 7 days from the 18th November 2011.
The ceremony of the sacred relics was declared open by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Russian Federation H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga, and on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka and the President Mahinda Rajapaksa Ambassador Weeratunga congratulated the people of Kalmykia on that momentous day. Also Ambassador Weeratunga appreciated the steps taken by H.E. Kirsan Illyumshinov‐Former President of the Republic of Kalmykia and Ven. Pallekande Ratanasara Thero for the development of Buddhism in Kalmykia and promised to give utmost support from Sri Lanka.
In addition to the thousands of Buddhist devotees, Head of the State of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov, Ven. Shadzhin Lama of Kalmykia Telo Tulku Rinpoche Thero, Ven. Pallekande Ratanasara Thero and several parliamentarians, Ven. Buddhist monks and other prominent personalities paid homage to the sacred relics.
Ambassador Weeratunga also met the Head of the State of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov and discussed the development of Buddhist relations between Kalmykia and Sri Lanka
