Nepalese Buddhists were expelled from Kathmandu Valley during Rana regime. There are many books written on this issue in Nepal. Sri Lanka had been wanting to bring in the ash of bone of Gautam Buddha. However, this transport was banned then. Also, those local Buddhists who were expelled during earlier regime wanted to return back. The government was not giving permission for the entry of those expelled Buddhists.
When Dharma Ratna Yami became the Deputy Prime Minister in 1951, he was able to convince the King Tribhuvan for permitting the entry of the ash (bone called Astu) ) of Gautam Buddha and allow reentry of the expelled Buddhists. It was a very bold risky step and there was a lot of resistance from the Brahmin community who had succeeded in blocking such initiatives in the past. King Tribhuvan agreed and gave permission. The ash was brought from Sri Lanka to Kathmandu Valley and was taken to the Narayan Hiti Darbar, the palace of the King. From there, there was a procession of carrying that ash (astu) from the palace to the Anandakuti Bihar ,Swayambhu, Kathmandu. On the way, people were very inquisitive and wanted to know what was the procession about. There were people who were against this initiative, spread the rumor that this is the act of the mad person Dharma Ratna Yemi. The resistance faced during the public procession reflects how powerful orthodox groups attempted to delegitimize Buddhist heritage by attacking the credibility of Dharma Ratna Yami, calling him a “Wayen yagu Deshe Kwoyen yagu Jatra ( In the country of mad man the procession of bone " in Newari language.) Yet, despite the hostility, the procession successfully enshrined the relics in a newly built stupa at Anandakuti Vihar near Swayambhu, where they still remain—a testament to perseverance and legacy.
This is a powerful and deeply symbolic moment in Nepal’s modern Buddhist history—one that underscores the resilience of Nepalese Buddhists during a time of religious repression and caste-based dominance under the Rana regime.
The repatriation of Gautam Buddha’s relics, facilitated by Dharma Ratna Yami in 1951, not only restored a spiritual and cultural connection to Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley, but also marked a bold political assertion against long-standing Hindu-Brahminical hegemony that had marginalized Nepal’s Buddhist communities. The act of convincing King Tribhuvan to allow the entry of Buddha’s relics—after years of state-sponsored suppression and the earlier expulsion of Buddhist monks—was a radical moment of reclamation and resistance.
This episode is not only about religious symbolism but also about the reassertion of Buddhist identity in its place of origin, and the courage of visionaries like Dharma Ratna Yami, who challenged powerful taboos and reconnected Nepal with a part of its own silenced history.
Once, in the very land where Siddhartha Gautam was born, Buddhism had been pushed into the shadows. Under the iron rule of the Ranas, monks were expelled from the Kathmandu Valley. Chanting was silenced. The saffron robes disappeared and those who dared to speak of the Buddha—were driven out. Then came the dawn of 1951. The Ranas were ousted. The wind of democracy began to stir.
And a man—Dharma Ratna Yami—rose to power as Deputy Minister , under the Priministership of Matrika Prasad Koirala. A visionary, A rebel. A descendant of those who never forgot the critical and risky role . Shre Lanka said : “We have preserved the sacred relic—the ash (ASHTU) of Gautam Buddha. Let it return home.” But this was not just a matter of religion. It was a challenge to the order that still gripped the country.
The expelled Buddhists of Nepal began to return—not just across borders, but across the boundaries of silence. Dharma Ratna Yami became a vessel for their voices. He chronicled their grief, their resistance, and the sacred wisdom that lay buried beneath caste discrimination, Hindu orthodoxy, and state control. He reminded a nation that the Buddha was born not just in Lumbini—but in the courage of those who dared to remember.
For years, the Brahmin elite had blocked such gestures. Yet Dharma Ratna stood firm. He went to King Tribhuvan—not with fear, but with faith. The seal of approval was given. The ash would come home. The Procession (Sound of drums, footsteps, murmurs) from Narayan Hiti Durbar, a sacred procession set out. Ash of the Enlightened One, held with reverence.
The local suppressed communities, who had long been deprived of access to information, were confused and unsure about what was happening. They began to ask questions about the nature of the event and its purpose. Unfortunately, rather than being given respectful or accurate explanations, they were misled by bunch of anti Buddhists had brainwashed the crowd around the procession into viewing the ritual in a negative light. These individuals used abusive language, referring to it mockingly as a “bone-ash procession in the country of a madman.” In the Newar language, this ritual is traditionally known as the “bone-ash procession.” Some scoffed opposing Voice (angry): “This is madness! Dharma Ratna the lunatic man's arrangement this procession of bones ash " . Stones were not thrown—but words were.
In the mid-20th century, as Nepal stood on the threshold of political upheaval and cultural amnesia, one man carried the fire of a silenced faith. Dharma Ratna Yami—writer, rebel, and relentless truth-teller—walked the tightrope between memory and exile. Born into a time when Buddhism was criminalized in its own birthplace, he was among the first to challenge the erasure.
धर्मरत्न यामीद्वारा फर्काइएका बुद्धका अस्थि: मौनता चिरेको ऐतिहासिक क्षण
राणा शासनकालमा नेपालका बौद्ध धर्मावलम्बीहरूलाई काठमाडौं उपत्यकाबाट निष्कासित गरिएको थियो। यस विषयमा धेरै पुस्तकहरू लेखिएका छन्। एक समय श्रीलङ्काले गौतम बुद्धका अस्थिहरू (अस्थु) नेपाल पठाउने प्रस्ताव राखेको थियो, तर त्यो बेला प्रतिबन्ध लगाइएको थियो। उता, पहिले निष्कासित गरिएका बौद्धहरू फिर्ता आउन चाहन्थे, तर सरकारले तिनलाई फर्किन अनुमति दिँदैन थियो।
वि.सं. २००८ मा धर्मरत्न यामी उपप्रधानमन्त्री बनेपछि उनले राजा त्रिभुवनलाई बुद्धको अस्थिहरू नेपाल भित्र्याउने अनुमति दिन राजी गराए। यो साहसी र जोखिमपूर्ण कदम थियो। पहिले ब्राह्मण वर्गले यस्ता प्रयासहरू रोक्दै आएकोले तीव्र प्रतिरोध भएको थियो। तर, राजा त्रिभुवनले अनुमति दिए।
श्रीलङ्काबाट बुद्धका अस्थिहरू काठमाडौं ल्याइए। ती अस्थिहरू नारायणहिटी दरबार—राजा बस्ने स्थान—मा राखियो। त्यसपछि, त्यहाँबाट स्वयम्भू नजिकैको आनन्दकुटी विहारसम्म ती अस्थिहरूलाई लिएर एक भव्य शोभायात्रा निकालियो। बाटोमा धेरैजना उत्सुकतापूर्वक सोध्न थाले—“के भइरहेको छ?” विरोध गर्नेहरूले अफवाह फैलाए—“धर्मरत्न यामीको पागलपन हो यो। हड्डीको यात्रा गराउँदैछ!”
अहिले पनि सम्झना गरिएको यो विरोध देखाउँछ कि कसरी रूढिवादी शक्तिहरूले बौद्ध सम्पदालाई अमान्य गर्न धर्मरत्न यामीको छवि नै कमजोर बनाउन खोजे। नेवारी भाषामा भनियो—“Wayen yagu deshe, kwoyen yagu jatra”—“पागलहरूको देशमा हड्डीको जात्रा!”
तर त्यस सबै विरोधका बाबजुद, शोभायात्रा सफल भयो। अस्थिहरूलाई स्वयम्भू नजिकै नव निर्मित स्तूपमा राखियो—आजसम्म पनि त्यहाँ सुरक्षित छन्। यो साहस, श्रद्धा र बौद्ध धर्मको पुनर्जागरणको प्रतीक हो।
वि.सं. २००८ मा धर्मरत्न यामीले अगुवाई गरेको बुद्धका अस्थिहरूको पुनःस्थापनाले काठमाडौं उपत्यकामा बौद्ध परम्परासँगको आध्यात्मिक सम्बन्ध मात्र फर्काएको थिएन, यसले लामो समयदेखि चलिरहेको हिन्दू-ब्राह्मणवादी वर्चस्वको विरुद्ध एक स्पष्ट राजनीतिक सन्देश पनि दिएको थियो।
राजालाई सहमत गराएर अस्थिहरू नेपाल ल्याउनु—राणा शासनद्वारा निष्कासित भिक्षुहरूको पीडाको आवाज बनाउनु—यो सबै एउटा ऐतिहासिक प्रतिरोधको काम थियो।
यो कथा केवल धार्मिक भावना मात्र होइन—यो आफ्नो उत्पत्तिको भूमिमा बौद्ध पहिचानको पुनःस्थापनाको कथा हो। धर्मरत्न यामीजस्ता अग्रगामीहरूको साहसको कथा हो, जसले मौनता चिरेर नेपालको दबाइएको इतिहाससँग पुनःजोड गरे।
जब सिद्दार्थ गौतम जन्मिएको भूमिमा नै बौद्ध धर्म छायाँमा परेको थियो—राणाहरूको कठोर शासनमा भिक्षुहरू निष्कासित थिए, मन्त्रपाठ रोकिएको थियो, गेरुवा वस्त्र हराएका थिए, बुद्धको नाम लिनेलाई देश निकाला दिइन्थ्यो।
तर वि.सं. २००८ मा प्रजातन्त्रको उज्यालो आउन थाल्यो। धर्मरत्न यामी—उपप्रधानमन्त्रीको रूपमा उदाए। प्रधानमन्त्री थिए—मातृका प्रसाद कोइराला। यामी एक दूरदर्शी, विद्रोही, र सत्यका साक्षी थिए। उनी ती पुस्ताका प्रतिनिधि थिए, जसले कहिल्यै भुल्न सकेनन् आफ्नो धर्ममाथि परेको अन्याय।
श्रीलङ्काले भन्यो—“हामीसँग बुद्धको अस्थु सुरक्षित छ। यसलाई जन्मभूमिमा फर्कन देऊ।” तर यो केवल धार्मिक विषय थिएन। यो सत्ताव्यवस्थामाथि चुनौती थियो।
निष्कासित बौद्धहरू फर्कन थाले—न केवल भौगोलिक सीमाना काट्दै, तर मौनताको सीमाना पनि। धर्मरत्न यामी उनीहरूको स्वर बने। जातीय विभेद, धार्मिक वर्चस्व, र राज्यद्वारा थोपिएको मौनताभित्र गाडिएको ज्ञानलाई उनले पुनः जीवित पार्न थाले।
वर्षौंसम्म ब्राह्मण वर्गले यस्ता प्रयासहरू रोक्दै आएको थियो। तर यामी अडिग रहे। उनी त्रिभुवन राजासँग गए—डर लिएर होइन, श्रद्धा लिएर। अनुमति दिइयो। अस्थु फर्काइयो। नारायणहिटी दरबारबाट डम्फू, पाइला र चर्चा गुञ्जिएको शोभायात्रा निस्कियो।
अज्ञानीहरूले चिच्याए—“पागल धर्मरत्न हड्डी ल्याउँदैछ!” पत्थर त हानिएन, तर शब्दहरूले आघात गरियो।
बीसौँ शताब्दीको मध्यतिर, राजनीतिक परिवर्तन र सांस्कृतिक बिर्सनाको घडीमा, एक व्यक्तिले मौन धर्मको आगो बोके। धर्मरत्न यामी—लेखक, विद्रोही, सत्यकर्मी—स्मृति र निर्वासनको दोभानमा हिँडे। जब बुद्ध जन्मिएको भूमिमा बौद्ध धर्मलाई अपराध घोषित गरिएको थियो, उनी नै पहिलो थिए जसले त्यो लोप हुँदै गएको आवाजलाई पुनर्जीवित गरे।