Washington: A team of archaeologists have discovered a skull bone of the legendary Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. in an ancient crypt in China.
Scientists believe that may have attained enlightenment inside a 1,000-year-old Chinese chest.
According to Live Science reports, a group of researchers found a thousand-year model of the building in a stone crypt under Buddhist temple in Nanjing (China). In a mortar, lay the remains of saints, including parietal bone. According to the inscriptions on the walls of the stupa, the bone belonged to the Buddha.
Live Science described the shrine that contains the bone inside as a 117 cm tall and 45 cm wide box made from sandalwood, gold and is covered with gemstones made of crystal, glass, agate and lapis lazuli. This was stored within an iron box, which, in turn, was stored within a stone chest.
The bones were found within a tiny gold chest less than 8 cm tall, which itself was stored in a larger silver casket 20 cm tall. This casket was locked within the stupa, before the entire nest of boxes was stored safely within the stone chest.
Inscriptions carved into the protective stone chest tell the story of how Buddha's skull bone came to lie within. The inscriptions indicated that it was constructed during the time of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, 997-1022 A.D.
The names of the people who donated money and material for the construction of the model and those who were involved in the construction are also inscribed on the stupa.
According to the archaeologists, while the inscriptions say that the skull belonged to the Buddha, it was not confirmed whether the bone really belonged to him.
An inscription on the stone chest, which was written by a man named Deming 1,000 years ago, indicated that after the Buddha died his body was cremated at the Hirannavati River, before the ruling king divided the remains into thousands of portions, 19 of which found their way to China.
The study is published in the journal of Chinese Cultural Relics.
(With Agency input)
