The relic, found in Vaishali, was mentioned by the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang in his book. Anant Sadashiv Altekar discovered it in a casket in a mud stupa during an archeological excavation between 1958 and 1960. The casket containing holy relics of the Buddha to be kept at the proposed museum was given to the Lichchhavi king of Vaishali after the Buddha attained mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar. One eighth of the Buddha's mortal remains were given to the Lichchhavi king. It was later enshrined at the Buddha Relic Stupa in the fifth century. The relic casket containing the holy ashes of Gautama Buddha mixed with earth, a piece of conch, pieces of beads, a thin golden leaf and a copper punch marked coin, is kept at the Patna Museum.
