Letters from Sri Lanka: All the Secrets of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy…

Dear my travelers and lovers of extraordinary journeys welcome to the new post on Mr.M blog! Today we continue our adventure in magical Sri Lanka and discover some interesting facts about the The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. Before I start today’s post I would like to thank the Sri Lankan Tourism Board for this amazing experience and for having the opportunity to continue my adventure on my favorite dream island!

If by any chance you missed any of my previous posts, take the opportunity to visit some of the previous stories at the following links:

1. The Story about Colombo (Travelogue): LINK
2. Unforgettable Fashion Safari in Sri Lanka: LINK
3. My Safari Experience in Sri Lanka (Travelogue): LINK
4. Sigiriya: The Magic of the Lost Kingdom (Travelogue): LINK

Travel is one of the best non-formal ways of education. When you travel, you have the opportunity to come into direct touch with new cultures and religions, so you have the opportunity to expand your knowledge and interests. Travels are memories that no one can take away from you, every trip is unique and each of us should fill our passport pages with destinations that would ennoble the soul because the interests of each individual are different, and therefore the destinations we choose.

Before heading to a new and unusual destination, we must keep in mind that we should not build prejudices and that it is best to go and enjoy the beauty of diversity without thinking too much. Every culture brings with it some special rituals and customs, every nation has its own beliefs that each of us should respect.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, better known as the Glorious Tooth Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Kandy in Sri Lanka. It is located in the complex of the royal palace of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the Buddha’s tooth. From time immemorial, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic runs the state. The relic has historically been held by Sinhalese kings. The Temple of the Tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly because of the temple and the relic.

The monks from two special chapters, the chapter of Malwathu and the chapter of Asgiri, perform daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening. On Wednesday, the relics are symbolically bathed with a herbal preparation of fragrant water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya, it is believed that this holy water contains healing powers and is distributed to those present.

There is an interesting legend, in which way a relic like the Buddha’s tooth came to Sri Lanka. After the Maha parinirvana of Gautama Buddha, according to legend, the relic of the tooth was preserved in Kalinga and smuggled to the island by Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Dantha, on the instructions of her father, King Guhasiva. Hemamali hid the relic in her hair on the way to the island. They landed on the island of Lankapatana during the reign of Sirimeghavana of Anuradhapura and handed over the relic of the tooth.

The king preserved it in Meghagiri Vihara (present-day Isurumuniya) in Anuradhapura. Keeping the relics has been the responsibility of the monarch ever since, so over the years keeping the relics has become a symbol of the right to rule the island. Therefore, the ruling monarchs built temples of relics of teeth quite close to their royal residences, as was the case in the time of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura, the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa and the Kingdom of Dambadeniya. During the era of the Kingdom of Gampola, the relic was placed in Niyamgampaja Vihari.

Poems about messengers such as Hamsa, Gira and Selalihini state that the temple of the relics of the tooth was located in the city of Sri Jayavardenpura Kota when the Kingdom of Kota was established there. During the reign of Darmapala of Kote, the relic was moved and hidden in Delgamuwa Vihara, Ratnapura, in a grinding stone.

It was brought to Kandy by Hirpitiye Diyawadana Rala and Devanagala Rathanalankara Thera. King Vimaladharmasuriya I built a two-story building to deposit the relics of the tooth and the building is now gone. Later, at the beginning of the 17th century, when the Portuguese kingdom invaded Kandy, it was taken to Meda Mahanuwara in Dumbara.

The Buddha’s Tooth was found during the time of Rajasinha II and there are historical records that the relic was returned to the original building or it is unconfirmed that a new temple was built. Today’s temple of the Buddha’s Tooth was built by Vira Narendra Sinha.

The octagonal Paththirippuva and the moat were added during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The royal architect Devendra Moolacharia is credited with building Paththiripuva. Originally, the king used it for recreational activities, and later it was assigned to the relic of teeth, and now it houses the temple library.

The description of the architecture of this Buddhist temple is also interesting. The brick wall that stretches along the moat and Lake Bogambara is known as the wall of water waves. The holes in this wall are made to light coconut oil lamps. The main entrance gate above the moat is called Mahavahalkada. At the foot of the Mahavahalkada steps is the sandakada pahana (moonstone) which is carved in the Kandian architectural style.

Mahavahalkada was completely destroyed in a bomb blast in 1998 and rebuilt along with Sandakada Pahan with other stone carvings. Elephants are depicted in stone on both sides of the entrance. Makara Torana and two stone guards were placed at the top of the stairs. The chamber of the drummer Hevisi is located in front of the main shrine. The two floors of the main shrine are known as “Palle malaia” (lower floor) and “Udu malaia” (upper floor) or “Veda hitina maligava”. The door of the Veda Hitana Maligawa is ivory carvings. The real chamber where the relic of the tooth is kept is known as “Handun kunama”.

The golden canopy over the main shrine and the golden fence surrounding the temple complex were built in 1987 by then-Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadas. The relic of the tooth is wrapped in seven golden coffins engraved with precious stones. The relic of the Buddha’s Tooth is forbidden to paint, but it is a divine sight when you see the way in which such a shrine is kept.

Within this complex there is also the Royal Palace, an open hall for the audience. Vimaladharmasuriia I from Kandy built the Royal Palace in Kandy. The Royal Palace is located north of the temple. The Royal Palace is also known as “Maligawa”. There were three Vahalkadas and a wall almost 2.5 m high which was used as the main entrance. The part of the palace facing Natha Devale is the oldest.

During the beginning of the British period, it was used by government agent Sir John D’Oyley, the 1st Baronet from Kandy. D’Oili’s heirs continued to use it as their official residence. Today it is preserved as an archeological museum. Ulpen Ge and Queens Palace are connected palace buildings.

The audience hall or magul maduva is the place where the kings of Kandy kept their court. It was completed during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The carvings of the wooden pillars that support the wooden roof are an example of wood carving from the Kandy period. Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha from Kandy built this hall in 1783. The hall was renovated to receive Albert Edward, Prince of Wales in 1872.

The audience hall was the place where the Candian Convention was drawn up, where the convention was read to the people and where the conference on the convention was held on March 2, 1815. That space was later used to raise Kandy Kachcheri and Kandy Supreme Court. Today it is used for state ceremonies and is kept within the Department of Archeology.

Dear travelers, we have come to the end of this special post about the most famous symbol of Sri Lanka – The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic which would not be possible without the selfless help of the Sri Lankan Tourism Board in cooperation with local partners to feel the spirit and beauty of the Sri Lankan culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried to share my impressions of this unusual experience in Sri Lanka.

Time always flies when a person has a good time! A man is rich at heart if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad to always be able to find partners for my projects that help me discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way during this global health crisis COVID-19.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to work with companies that are at the top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank them for this amazing adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual island country in South Asia in a completely different way.

How did you like this story of mine about my experience in The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic? Have you maybe had the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka before? Share with me your experiences, I am would be glad to hear!

If you have a question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write to me below in the comments. Of course, as always you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you in the same place in a couple of days, with a new story from Sri Lanka!

Warm greetings from Sri Lanka,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Sri Lankan Tourism Board. This post presents my personal and honest review of the destination experience.