Temple of the Tooth
Interesting facts
- Every Wednesday the relic is ritually bathed with scented water and flowers, and the water, believed to heal, is shared among those present.
- On reaching the island in the 4th century, the tooth was first enshrined at Meghagiri Vihara, today's Isurumuniya, in Anuradhapura.
- In the 16th century, under King Dharmapala of Kotte, the relic was hidden for safety inside a grinding stone at a temple in Ratnapura.
- When the Portuguese invaded Kandy in 1603, the relic was carried away to Meda Mahanuwara in the Dumbara hills.
- The innermost chamber where the relic is kept is called the Handun Kunama, and the caskets are shaped like a miniature stupa.
- The octagonal Paththirippuwa began as a pavilion for the king's leisure before it was offered to the relic.
- Facing the temple, the Mahamaluwa square holds a memorial containing the skull of the Kandyan chieftain Keppetipola, along with statues of Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha.
- The royal audience hall next door was lengthened by about 31 feet to receive the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, in 1872.
Why it is worth it
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Sri Dalada Maligawa, is the most revered shrine of Sri Lanka's Buddhists: within its innermost chamber, enclosed in seven golden caskets set with gems, is kept a tooth believed to be that of the Buddha. The temple stands within the former royal palace complex of the Kingdom of Kandy, its buildings rising behind a moat and a long lakeside wall pierced with niches for coconut-oil lamps, and since 1988 it has been at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sacred City of Kandy.
According to legend, the relic was carried to the island in the 4th century from the Indian kingdom of Kalinga by Princess Hemamali, who hid it in her hair, and her brother Prince Dantha. From then on its guardianship was bound up with the right to rule, so each royal capital — Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Kotte — built a tooth temple near the palace. After a period in hiding, the relic was brought to Kandy, where Vimaladharmasuriya I built a first shrine at the end of the 16th century. The present temple was built under Vira Narendra Sinha, and the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, added the moat and the octagonal Paththirippuwa, attributed to the royal architect Devendra Moolacharya and now housing the temple library.
Visitors cross the moat by the Mahawahalkada gateway, approached over a carved moonstone in the Kandyan style and flanked by stone elephants; this entrance was destroyed in a bomb attack in 1998 and rebuilt with its carvings. The two-storey shrine has carved ivory doors, and a golden canopy has crowned it since 1987. Monks of the Malwathu and Asgiri chapters perform rituals three times a day, and every year the Esala Perahera, a great procession of dancers, drummers and elephants, honours the relic through the streets of the city. Nearby stand the royal palace, now an archaeological museum, and the Magul Maduwa audience hall, where the Kandyan Convention that ended the kingdom was proclaimed in 1815.
Getting there
The temple is in the centre of Kandy in Sri Lanka's Central Province, less than 1 km from the heart of the city, beside the lake. The nearest international airport is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) near Colombo, about 85 km to the west. Kandy railway station, on the line from Colombo, is in the city centre.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The Temple of the Tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.
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