Distribution of the Relics
After the body of the Buddha was cremated, the relics were divided into eight portions under the
supervision of the Brahman Drona and then distributed among the eight communities whose
claims the Mallas respected, and who built the stupas to enshrine the relics. However, none of
these eight stupas are believed to exist now as they were opened and the relics were collected
and further divided for enshrinement in new stupas duringthe reign ofAshokainthe 3rd century
B.C.
The Kanishka casket is Buddhist reliquary made in gilded copper. The casket is housed in
Peshawar Museum. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha, which were
forwarded to Burma now Mayanmar by the British following the excavation, where they still
remain.