History

A Brief History of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a world-renowned place of worship, where the left Canine tooth of Gautama Buddha is enshrined. The temple which is venerated by thousands of local & foreign devotees and tourists daily was named as a world heritage by UNESCO in 1988. The temple which carries a lot of value to Buddhists all over the world also has immense cultural value. The architecture is of unique Kandyan architectural style with a combination of the unique style used to build “Dalada Mandira” the shrines which housed the Sacred Tooth Relic previously in other kingdoms. The temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is built in the city of Kandy near the ancient Royal Palace which is situated to the North of the temple and the forest reserve called “Udawaththa Kelaya” to the East. The famous Kandy Lake also known as “Kiri Muhuda” to the South and “Natha & Paththini Devala” on the West. The temple is adorned with intricate carvings using gold, silver, bronze, and ivory.

The Sacred Tooth Relic, which is housed at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the city of Kandy, is being considered and worshipped as the living Lord Buddha. For this very reason, there are daily, weekly and annual poojas and rituals. Dalada Perahera famously known as the Kandy Esala Perahera held in the month of Esala (July) annually is among them. It is considered as the epitome of country’s Buddhist celebrations and is blessed with divinity. According to Maha Parinibbana sutta of Deegha Chapter, among few other sacred relics, the four sacred tooth relics remained intact following Mahaparinirvana. Lord Buddha’s left canine tooth out of the four Tooth Relics which was blessed with Sri Saddhamma for 45 years was brought to Sri Lanka due to the continuous conflicts during the reign of King Mutaseewa in the kingdom of Kaalinga. Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha brought the Tooth Relic to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Kithsirimewan, seeking protection for the Sacred Tooth Relic. This incident took place in 310 A.D. Following the arrival of the Sacred Tooth Relic, it was first housed in the Isurumuniya Temple and was honoured and worshipped with Dalada Perahera by King Kithsirimewan. It was so splendid that it left the King Kithsirimewan and the country men with amazement and awe. They made it an annual event performed in Anuradhapura kingdom with the anticipation of timely rain and good harvest. The background for the current street parading Dalada Perahera was set on those circumstances. No matter how the king was crowned, if he did not obtain the guardianship of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which has the miraculous power of giving timely rain and good harvest, in the eyes of the country men he was not regarded as the true leader with sovereignty. Sri Dalada Perahera, which continued to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic with numerous rituals and performances was held in the month of Esala (July) until the country was entirely colonized by the British in 1815 A.D. Afterwards, it was permitted by the British colonizers, who made the country a kingless state, to perform Sri Dalada Perahera and the traditions relevant to the Sacred Tooth Relic continuously, with the custody of a Diyawadana Nilame (Chief Custodian). The tradition of Dalada Perahera, which was based on Buddhist respect and kindness, combined with rituals of Devala, prioritizing the ultimate humanity. The Kandy Esala Perahera Casket which is considered as living Lord Buddha which parades the streets is worshipped by the divinity, humanity and elephants. This is considered to be the oldest cultural event in the world and continues with its colourful,glamorous splendour making it an out of this world experience.

Sri Dantha Dhathu

The Sacred Relic of the tooth of Buddha (Buddh-dantya) is venerated in Sri Lanka as a relic of the founder of Buddhism. The relic in India According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kusinara in India and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by Arahat Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. It became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and was kept in the city of Dantapuri (present day Puri in Orissa). A belief grew that whoever possessed the Sacred Tooth Relic had a divine right to rule that land. Wars were fought to take possession of the relic. 800 years after the Buddha's death, in the 4th century CE, the tooth came into the possession of King Guhaseeva of Kalinga, which roughly corresponds to the present day state of Orissa. Kalinga had become a Buddhist and begun to worship the Sacred Tooth relic. This caused discontent among some of the citizens, who went to King Paandu and said that King Guhaseeva had stopped believing in god and that he had started to worship a tooth. King Paandu decided to destroy the relic, and ordered to it brought to the city. It is said that, as the tooth arrived at the city, a miracle occurred, and King Paandu converted to Buddhism. When King Ksheeradara heard, he went with his army to attack Paandu in the city of Palalus. The invaders were defeated before reaching the city, and King Ksheeradara died. A prince from the city of Udeni who had become a Buddhist came to worship the sacred tooth. King Guhaseeva was pleased with him, and let him marry his daughter. The prince was known as Dantha and the princess as Hemamala. When they heard that King Ksheeradara had died in the war, his sons raised a large army to attack King Guhaseeva and destroy the relic. They entered the city, but King Guhaseeva secretly sent Dantha and Hemamala out of the city, with the relic. The relic in Sri Lanka The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka The tooth sanctuary According to legend, Hemamali hid the relic in her hair ornament and the royal couple disguised themselves as Brahmins in order to avoid discovery. They set sail from Tamralipti, a port at the mouth of the river Ganges, and landed in Sri Lanka at the port of Lankapattana (now Ilankeiturei). It is said that Sri Lanka was chosen as the new home for the tooth relic because the Lord Buddha had declared that his religion would be safe in Sri Lanka for 2,500 years. At the time of Dantha's and Hemamali's arrival on the island, King Kirti Sri Megavanna or Kithsirimevan ruled Sri Lanka. The King was overjoyed when he heard the news and warmly welcomed the royal couple and received the Sacred Tooth Relic with great veneration. He built a beautiful palace within the Royal Palace Complex itself and enshrined the Relic in it. Thereafter, he ordered that an annual perahera be held in honour of the Sacred Relic. As time went on, as the land was threatened with foreign invasions, the seat of the kingdom was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, then to Dambadeniya and other cities. Upon each change of capital, a new palace was built to enshrine the Relic. Finally, it was brought to Kandy where it is at present, in the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple. The Sacred Tooth Relic came to be regarded as a symbolic representation of the living Buddha and it is on this basis that there grew up a series of offerings, rituals, and ceremonies. These are conducted under the supervision of the two Mahanayake Theros of Malwatte, Asgiriya Chapters, and Diyawadana Nilame of the Maligawa. These have a hierarchy of officials and temple functionaries to perform the services and rituals. Other tooth relics Aside from this specific tooth relic, another relic of the tooth of the Buddha is currently in Lingguang Temple in Badachu, Beijing, China.Fo Guang Shan monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan,the reliquary hall (shariden) of Engaku-ji in Kamakura, Japan,[4] and the Buddha Relic Tooth Temple in Chinatown, Singapore are all also reputed to each contain a tooth of the Buddha