Bhutan’s Dual Celebration of Faith and Gratitude
Bhutan celebrates the 70th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo alongside the sacred festival of Labab Duechen, marked by the arrival of Buddha’s relics and the ongoing Global Peace Prayer Festival — a profound union of royal tribute, faith, and compassion.
On 11 November 2025, the Kingdom of Bhutan marked two deeply resonant events at once — the 70th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth Dragon King, and the sacred festival of Labab Duechen, the Day of Lord Buddha’s Descent from Heaven.
At the iconic Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, His Majesty King Jigme Khesar addressed the nation, offering tribute and expressing the profound gratitude and love of the Bhutanese people for His Majesty the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The stands were filled with over 27,000 people, many of whom had arrived the previous evening, as the Royal Family, government officials, foreign dignitaries, and Buddhist teachers gathered in heartfelt celebration.
India’s Prime Minister, His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi, was a special guest of honour at the 70th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth King.
Sacred Relics and the Global Peace Prayer Festival
Meanwhile, the landmark Global Peace Prayer Festival, held from 4–19 November in Thimphu, continues to unite spiritual leaders and devotees from across the world in prayer and reflection. The arrival of the sacred relics of Lord Buddha from India — known as the Piprahwa-Kapilavastu Relics — has added immeasurable depth to the occasion.
“The relics, known as the Piprahwa-Kapilavastu Relics, hold profound historical and spiritual significance,” Bhutan’s government stated. “Regarded as among the most venerated objects in the global Buddhist tradition, they provide a direct and tangible link to Lord Buddha’s physical presence and enduring blessings.”
Escorted by a high-level Indian delegation, the relics arrived in Thimphu on 8 November and are being enshrined in the Grand Kuenray Hall of Tashichho Dzong for public display from 12–17 November. The exhibition honours His Majesty the Fourth King’s 70th Birth Anniversary and allows the people of Bhutan to offer veneration, receive blessings, and take part in the ongoing Global Peace Prayer Festival.
The Festival itself is a rare and momentous gathering that brings together Buddhist masters, teachers, and practitioners from all vehicles of Buddhism and all schools of Vajrayana. It aims to channel the transformative power of compassion and awareness toward global harmony and understanding.
A Nation Blessed with Auspiciousness
“It is an auspicious time in Bhutan, coinciding with His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo’s 70th birthday on 11 November,” explained His Eminence Tshogi Lopen Sangay Khandu. “It is also the day when Lord Buddha descended from the Trayastrimsa heaven to Earth. The arrival of such sacred relics from India further adds to the auspiciousness of the occasion.”
Members of the public lined the streets to offer incense and prayers as the motorcade escorting the relics travelled from Paro to Thimphu. In the capital, the relics were received by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at Tashichho Dzong in a sacred ceremony.
“The sacred relics are those of Shakyamuni’s bone fragments that have been preserved as treasures of the Shakya clan,” His Eminence Tshogi Lopen Sangay Khandu observed. “Viewing the relics is an opportunity to pray that all sentient beings be blessed with happiness. With the blessings received from the relics, may happiness shower upon all sentient beings, and may they be liberated from all suffering.”
His Majesty The King met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Tashichho Dzong, and held discussions on a wide range of areas. Prime Minister Modi then joined His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen to offer prayers before the sacred Buddha relics enshrined at the Grand Kuenrey of Tashichho Dzong.
His Majesty and Prime Minister Modi jointly inaugurated the Punatsangchu-II Hydroelectric Project at Grand Kuenrey, in the presence of the Buddha relics.
Harmony in Celebration and Prayer
The Global Peace Prayer Festival featured a rich array of rituals and spiritual activities — the Jabshi Gyap ritual conducted by the Central Monastic Body, a non-sectarian Vajrayana Global Peace Prayer, and a mass recitation of the Bazaguru mantra to invoke peace and compassion. A day of public blessings by eminent lamas, exhibitions of Kalachakra art, and academic seminars will also take place alongside the prayers.
The highlight of the festival will be the Kalachakra Initiation bestowed by His Holiness the Je Khenpo from today until 14 November. Among the most profound teachings in Vajrayana Buddhism, the Kalachakra represents the interconnection between the universe and the human body and is performed to promote world peace and avert global crises.
Adding to the significance, 250 nuns will receive full bhikshuni ordination from 15–19 November — only the second time such ordination has taken place in Bhutan. His Holiness the Je Khenpo will confer the ordination at the Training and Resource Centre of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation in Thimphu.
As the nation celebrates its beloved monarch and honours the sacred descent of the Buddha, the two streams of royal tribute and spiritual invocation merge seamlessly.
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