Buddha Samyak Darshan Museum and Memorial Stupa, Vaishali

Built at Vaishali, about 60 km from Patna, this museum and memorial stupa was created to hold relics of the Buddha. After his death at Kushinagar, his remains were split among eight kings, and one share went to the Licchavi ruler of Vaishali, who enshrined it in a stupa. Anant Sadashiv Altekar dug up the relic casket from a brick and clay stupa between 1958 and 1960, and it has been kept at the Patna Museum.

The Bihar cabinet approved the project in 2013 and work began in February 2019. Spread over 72 acres, the complex is built from over 42,000 blocks of Rajasthan sandstone quarried at Vanshi Paharpur, assembled to resist earthquakes, with IIT Delhi giving technical support. Construction was nearly finished in July 2025, with the inauguration set for 29 July. Plans include display of the relics, galleries with artefacts and 3D models, a meditation centre, an amphitheatre, a library and a large Buddha statue made in Odisha.