Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana - Excavation

Excavation

In 1851, the British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham was excavating at the Asokan Buddhist complex in Sanchi, near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in India, which dated to the 3rd century BCE. In the famous Third Stupa, he uncovered the bodily relics of Sariputra and Mahammoggallana. At approximately the same time, more relics of the two arahants were found in a stupa at Satadhara, about ten kilometres from Sanchi.

After sinking a shaft in the centre of the stupa on Sanchi Hill, Cunningham unearthed a large stone slab, more than five feet in length, lying in a north-south axis. Beneath the slab were two boxes of gray sandstone, each with a brief inscription in Brāhmī characters on the lid. The box at the southern end was inscribed "Sariputtasa" meaning "(Relics) of Sariputra," while that to the north bore the inscription "Maha-Mogalanasa." "(Relics) of Maha Moggallana."