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The architecture and culture of the temple of tooth relic in Kandy



Bhikkhus of the two particular chapters, the Malwathu chapters and Asgiri chapters, conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with a herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya; this holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed to those present.


After the Maha parinirvana of Gautama Buddha, according to the legend, the tooth relic 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.[1] Hemmamali hid the relic in her hair on the way to the island. They landed on the island in Lankapattana during the reign of Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura (301-328) and handed over the tooth relic. The king enshrined it in Meghagiri Vihara (present day Isurumuniya) in Anuradhapura. Safeguarding the relic was the responsibility of the monarch from then, therefore over the years, the custodianship of relic came to symbolize the right to rule the island. Therefore, reigning monarchs built the tooth relic temples quite close to their royal residences, as was the case during the times of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, and Kingdom of Dambadeniya. During the era of the Kingdom of Gampola, the relic was housed in Niyamgampaya Vihara. It is reported in the messenger poems such as Hamsa, Gira, and Selalihini that the temple of tooth relic was situated within the city of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte when the Kingdom of Kotte was established there.[1][2]




temple of tooth relic short essay



During the reign of Dharmapala of Kotte, the relic was moved and was hidden in Delgamuwa Vihara, Ratnapura, in a grinding stone.[1] It was brought to Kandy by Hiripitiye Diyawadana Rala and Devanagala Rathnalankara Thera. King Vimaladharmasuriya I built a two-storey building to deposit the tooth relic and the building is now gone.[3] In 1603 when the Portuguese kingdom invaded Kandy, it was carried to Meda Mahanuwara in Dumbara. It was recovered in the time of Rajasinha II and it has been reported that he reinstated the original building or built a new temple.[1] The present-day temple of the tooth was built by Vira Narendra Sinha.[4] The octagonal Paththirippuwa and moat were added during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The royal architect Devendra Moolacharya is credited with building the Paththirippuwa. Originally it was used by the king for recreational activities and later it was offered to the tooth relic, it now houses the temple's library.


The temple was attacked in 1989 by the militant organisation Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP); it had the intention of capturing the relic.[5] And in 1998 by the militant organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); this attack damaged the front side of the royal palace.


The brick wall which runs along the moat and the Bogambara lake is known as the water waves wall.[4] Holes in this wall are built to light coconut oil lamps. The main entrance gate which lies over the moat is called Mahawahalkada. At the foot of Mahawahalkada steps, there is a Sandakada pahana (moonstone) which is carved in Kandyan architectural style. Mahawahalkada was totally destroyed in a 1998 bomb blast and rebuilt afterwards along with Sandakada pahana other stone carvings.[6] Elephants are depicted in stone on either side of the entrance. A Makara Torana and two guardian stones are placed on top of the staircase. TheHewisi drummers' chamber is situated in front of the main shrine. The two storeys of the main shrine are known as "Palle malaya" (lower floor) and "Udu malaya" (upper floor) or "Weda hitina maligawa".[7] The doors of the Weda Hitana Maligawa are Ivory carvings. The actual chamber in which the tooth relic is kept is known as the "Handun kunama".


The golden canopy over the main shrine and the golden fence which encircles the temple complex, was built in 1987 by then Prime Minister, Ranasinghe Premadasa.[8] The tooth relic is encased in seven golden caskets which are engraved with precious gemstones.[9] The casket represent a stupa; the procession casket which is used during the Kandy Esala Perahera is also displayed in the same chamber.


A The roadway running in between the Temple of the Tooth and the King's Palace and the Natha Devale temple is not being used as a road now. Earlier it was the access road to the King's Palace and the Tooth Relic Temple. There is a thick short wall with a feature of a triangle shape running along the border in between the Tooth relic temple and the road called "Diyareli Bamma" which means Wave swell Wall. There are triangle shaped cavities running throughout the width which were used to place lighted oil lamps. There is a moat between this wave swell wall and another wall in a higher elevation built onto the front side of the Temple of Tooth Relic which has a curve design called "Walakulu Bamma" or Cloud swell wall. This Cloud swell wall can be found in many temple paintings of Kandyan era.


The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the tooth relic of the Buddha, a tooth, which is venerated by Buddhists. The relic has played an important role in the local politics since ancient times, it's believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country, which caused the ancient kings to protect it with great effort. Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese Kings from 1592 to 1815, fortified by the terrain of the mountains and the difficult approach. The city is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO, in part due to the temple.


The Temple of the Tooth Relic is an important historic and religious site in Sri Lanka. This golden-roofed temple hosts the tooth of the Buddha, an important Buddhist relic. The tooth relic is kept inside a golden casket in the shape of a Stupa (Buddhist temple). The temple is located in the royal palace complex and is a reason for Kandy being a UNESCO world heritage site. The site lies in Sri Dalada Veediya in the heart of the Kandy town.


You cannot actually see the relic of the tooth of the Buddha when visiting the Kandy Tooth Temple, as it is kept in the smallest of seven nested golden caskets (think Matryoshka dolls) shaped like a stupa or dagoba, that are kept in an inner shrine inside the temple.


Three times a day, at dawn, at noon and in the evening, monks perform rituals in the inner chamber of the temple. Once a week, on Wednesdays, the casket with the tooth receives symbolic bathing in healing water.


Sri Dalada Maligawa - the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic - is one of the most important pilgrim sites in Buddhist culture. It is the main part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sacred City of Kandy. Since the end of the 17th century the temple has been keeping the sacred tooth of the Buddha. Until now an accurate documentation of the temple with all its rich decorations is missing. The Temple is built in an area vulnerable to environmental factors like earthquakes or monsoon rains and was the target of terrorist attacks. To help preserving this important cultural heritage a research project was carried out. Main part of the project was a 3D-documentation of the entire temple by using Terrestrial-Laser-Scanning (TLS) and the creating of CAD-Plans. In addition to the documentation of the architecture several details were taken in high resolution by Structured-Light-Scanning (SLS). All data will be part of the digital archive of the temple and were used as a base for a general site monitoring, especially to observe cracks. Next to the mere documentation a transfer of knowledge was another aim of the project. In future most of the analysis of the scan data can be done by local specialists.


The temple was originally built by the kings of the Kandy during the 1700s to keep the relic of Lord Buddha safely. Down the years, the temple suffered multiple attacks from various colonizers and was caught in the midst of a few political struggle movements. The journey of the tooth started from Kalinga but was given to Princess Hemamali during the onset of war. The princess successfully smuggled the relic into the island but the tooth got passed on from one king to another. It was later decided that the monarch was in charge of keeping the tooth safe. This resulted in the tooth playing an important role on who should be the king. Whoever had the tooth, ended up being crowned the king. The Temple of Tooth, Kandy was later constructed to bring an end to all this mayhem and the relic was placed in a casket with many layers.


Kandy Lake is an artificial waterbody that is considered a sacred relic of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. The lake was made back in 1807 and is one of the best places to visit for a walk or jog along. The shady area next to the temple offers its guests a view of the whole city. There are many temples near the waterbody, bu...


Royal Palace of Kandy is one of the most popular places to visit in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a magnificent structure that will leave you awestruck like never before. Situated near the temple of the tooth, the palace is surrounded by lush greenery which gives it an aura that will make you fall in love with it the first time t...


The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the one of the two surviving relic of the tooth of Buddha, an object of veneration for Buddhists. The other tooth relic is believed to be enshrined in a stupa called Somawathi Chethiya.


Ancient customs and ceremonies are scrupulously kept up, offerings are made daily, and in honor of the Sacred Relic an annual festival lasting fourteen days is held in Kandy every year during August. The Perahera, or procession, on these occasions is conducted by the temple authorities with elephants, lights, music and dancers, and is witnessed by thousands of devotees. Chiefs in full ancient attire accompany the procession. Large tracts of land have been set apart as fees for services at this temple and the tenants of these lands have various services apportioned to them. The exhibition of the Sacred Relic itself takes place at rare intervals when tens of thousands of pilgrims find their way to the Temple to worship and view the Relic. A medieval chronicle, chiefly of the eastern part of the island, mentions the existence of the right eye-tooth and its enshrinement in Somavati Cetiya in pre-Christian times. 2ff7e9595c


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