If you visit the Kandy, you should not miss Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Kandy is located in Central province of Sri Lanka and Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is axis of Kandy. Without Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, it is hard to imagine Kandy. Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a historically bond Buddhist temple. The temple houses the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha, and possibly, it is the most sacred Buddhist shrine in the world. It is also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa in local language. Literally, the term Sri Dalada Maligawa means Glorious Tooth Temple.
History
The Buddha himself endorsed the worship of the Buddha’s relic as per the Mahaparinibbana-sutta book. The relics of the Buddha were kept in an ancient burial structure known as the stupa. However, it was a practice that the four canine teeth were worshiped separately. The Buddha’s’ tooth was preserved in India. However, due to unfavorable in battle, Indian king decided to send the tooth relic to Sri Lankan king, and Buddhism was well rooted in Sri Lanka. The Tooth relic was secretly taken away, and reached the shores of Sri Lanka and then finally reached the Sri Lankan capital, Anuradhapura. The Sri Lankan king built a shrine for the tooth relic. Later, when the capital Anuradhapura was moved to Polonnaruwa in the latter half of the 10th century, tooth relic also moved to the new location. The current ruins of Atadage of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa are believed as the house of tooth relic.
According to the Velaikkara inscription, this shrine was placed under the protection of Velaikkara mercenaries in the service of the king. The years after King's death seemed to be very miserable in politics. The country was dominated by separate rulers who were vulnerable. As a result, many Buddhist temples were destroyed. In this situation, there was a question of the sacred tooth. The monks secretly took relic to a safer place in the southern country, Rohana.
Due to the invasion of Kalinga Magha, the capital was moved to the south-western part of the country in the wet zone. Again, the tooth relic shifted to a safer location in Kotmale in the central hills. During the invasion from the Pandyan kindom in South India, relic was shifted to the Pandyan king Kulasekera. Parakramabahu III held a friendly discussion and he brought back the relic India to Polonnaruva. Later, the relic moved from Polonnaruwa to Kurunagala and placed it at a shrine. During the Gampola ruler Vikramabahu III, it moved to Gampola.
King Virabahu, the ruler from Jayavardanapura Kotte closer to Colombo, brought the relic to his capital. By the arrival of European powers, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and other catastrophic situations have led the tooth relic to be secretly taken to a safer place by loyal monks. Therefore, the relic was moved to Sitawaka kingdom, ruled by king Mayadune. Then, it was finally hidden in Ratnapra, and the relic was taken by Vimaladharmasuriya I to the current resting place in Kandy.
Structure and soundings
Today's Temple of the Sacred Tooth was built by Vira Narendra Sinha. The octagonal structure and moat were added by Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. Earlier the octagonal structure used by the king, and later offered to tooth relics; it now uses for temple library. Beautiful and iconic style brick wall (water waves wall) which goes alongside the moat and the Bogambara lake. Holes on the wall are constructed for lighting coconut oil lamps. On the main entrance’s steps, there is a moonstone that resembles architecture of Kandyan style. Two guardian stones are built on top of the staircase as you could see in other Buddhist temples. Also, you can notice carved elephants on the entrance. The main shrine is divided into two; lower floor and upper floor. The main shrine is house for drummers courtyard where the daily rituals are carried out..
The doors of the upper floor and inner chamber is fortified with a large wooden door and decorated with bronze and ivory. The "Handun kunama" is the actual chamber that holds the tooth relic. Its door is covered with gold, silver and ivory. Over the relic chamber there is a golden lotus flower studded with precious stones hanging from the ceiling.
Former president Ranasinghe Premadasa installed the golden canopy over the main shrine that gives notable feature to the temple. Also, he built the golden fence which goes alongside the temple complex. The tooth relic is placed in a stupa alike seven golden caskets that were engraved with precious gemstones. The casket uses during the Kandy Esala Perahera procession.
On the north of the temple, there is royal palace. Later, the British used it as their official residence. Now, it houses an archeological museum. The audience hall used as the Kandyan kings’ court. Today, you can see the wooden architecture with wooden pillar carvings and wooden roof. The audience hall was the venue where the Kandyan Convention was drawn up. On to the left of the temple, a building houses the remains of the Maligawa elephant, Raja. For over 50 years, Raja carried the golden casket. He was declared as a national treasure by the government. Next to the Temple of the Tooth, there are three museums such as Temple museum, International Buddhist museum and Kandy National Museum. Also, Kandy lake and queen’s bathing pool are eye catching spot which are located next to the temple.
The Status and Worship
Because of the temple and the tooth relic, the temple of the tooth is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is housed in the old Kingdom of Kandy's royal palace complex, which also houses the relic of the Buddha's tooth. The relic was played notable roles in Sri Lankan politics since ancient times because whoever holds the relic controls the country. Monks held daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are conducted three times (dawn, noon, and evening) a day. A symbolic holy water bathing of the relic with herbal mixture that created from scented water and fragrant flowers performs every Wednesday. The holy water is said to have healing qualities and is distributed to those present.
