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The Temple of the Tooth, or Sri Dalada Maligawa is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex ,which houses the only surviving relic of Buddha, which is venerated by Buddhists. The relic, which is situated in the Temple of the Tooth played an important role in local politics since ancient times; it’s believed that whoever holds the Temple of the Tooth relic holds the governance of the country, which naturally caused the ancient kings to protect the Temple of the Tooth with great effort! Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese kings.
Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily ritual worship in the inner chamber of the Temple of tooth, in annual rotation. They conduct these services three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.
On Wednesdays a symbolic bathing of the Sacred Relic is held in the Temple of tooth with a herbal preparation made from scented water and flagrant flowers, called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present
Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily ritual worship in the inner chamber of the Temple of tooth, in annual rotation. They conduct these services three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.
On Wednesdays a symbolic bathing of the Sacred Relic is held in the Temple of tooth with a herbal preparation made from scented water and flagrant flowers, called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.
On the outside, Temple of tooth buildings are not magnificent or elaborately decorated. White, with red roofs, they cluster around Kandy Lake (the island in the middle once housed the king’s harem).Temple of tooth Interiors. In striking contrast to the plain exterior, the interiors of the temple buildings are richly carved and decorated with inlaid woods, ivory, and lacquer. Around the entire Temple of tooth complex is a low white stone wall, delicately and simply carved with openings that give a filigree effect. During celebrations, candles are placed in the openings, lighting up the entire front of Temple of tooth.
The relic of the tooth is kept in a two-story inner shrine fronted by two large elephant tusks inside Temple of tooth. The relic rests on a solid gold lotus flower, encased in jeweled caskets that sit on a throne.
The Temple of The Tooth is joined to the Pattiripuwa (Octagon) tower, built in 1803, that was originally a prison but now houses a collection of palm-leaf manuscripts. The king’s palace is also in compound of the Temple of The Tooth.
Commemorating Poson at the Temple of Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa)The Temple of tooth Relic of the Buddha, the Sri Dalada Maligawa is a hallowed place of worship for all Buddhists the world over. Among other special events Poson Purapasaloswaka Poya the full moon day in June each year, is marked by special Poson programmes.
Poson Poya is significant because it was on such a full moon Poya day that Mahinda Maha Thera set foot in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the emphasis is on Mihintale, eight km away from Anuradhapura where Mahinda Maha Thera met King Devanampiyatissa.
Painting depicting Princess Hemamala and Prince Danta bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic to Sri Lanka.The Maha Thera (head monk) arrived in Mihintale with his entourage comprising theras Ittiya, Uttiya, Sambala, Baddhasala, Sumana samanera and Upasaka Banduka who was the only layman.
Standing atop the Missaka rock, they watched King Devanampiyatissa hunting and aiming his arrow at a frightened, cornered deer. ‘Tissa’ said Mahinda Maha Thera. A surprised king looked up at the rock wondering who could be calling him thus. Seeing the yellow robed figures in calm silence, he moved to take a closer look. The Maha Thera, wishing to judge the king’s intellect, asked him a few questions which the king answered intelligently. Then Mahinda Maha Thera decided that the king would understand the Buddha Dhamma and its deep philosophy. There was a discourse of the Chullahattipadopama Sutta which was understood by the king. The reformed king Devanampiyatissa threw away his bow and arrow and embraced Buddhism.
Mahinda Maha Thera was the son of the great Emperor Asoka of India, who after winning many wars and seeing the great destruction in the Kalinga war, realized the futility of it all and embraced Buddhism. With the Buddha’s Parinibbhana, (passing away) many kings in Dambadiva claimed the Buddha’s relics. A Brahmana named Drona resolved this by dividing the relics into eight portions. But, he quietly hid the left canine tooth of the Buddha in his turban. However, he was unable to keep it for himself and finally it was owned by the king of Kalinga. With many wars in the country and the insecure situation in Kalinga and realising the possibility of the Sacred Tooth Relic being lost, King Guhasiva decided to send the relic to Sri Lanka through his daughter princess Hemamala and her husband prince Danta. They brought it to Sri Lanka disguised as travelers and arrived in Anuradhapura. Meeting the king Kirtisri Meghavanna also known as Kitsiri Mevan, they gifted the Sri Dalada (the Sacred Tooth Relic) to him. The Relic was venerated and taken in a perahera (procession) to the palace.
With many wars and various kings ruling the country, the Sacred Tooth Relic, which was now safeguarded at the Temple of the tooth was shifted to Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Gampola, and Kotte in turns It is stated that in 1592, King Wimaladharmasuriya I brought it to Kandy to the Temple of the Tooth from Seethawaka Delgamuwa Raja Maha Viharaya in Kuruwita, Ratnapura.
The Sinhala as well as the Nayakkar kings who ascended the Kandyan throne guarded, revered and paid homage to the Relic placing it in a shrine in the precincts of the royal palace in the Temple of the tooth.
Even during British rule, the administrators agreed to continue to protect the Sacred Tooth Relic in the Temple of the Tooth and conduct religious rituals and ceremonies . In 1853 the British handed over custody of the Sacred Tooth Relic, to the most Venerable Mahanayakes of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters and the Diyawadana Nilame. From that time the Tevava’(religious service) was conducted alternately by the Asgiriya and Malwatte viharas. The change and handing over of the duties are carried out on Esala Poya day every year when the ‘Vas’ season begins. The Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) conducts festivals and peraheras (processions) for the Aluth Sahal Mangalya in January, New Year festival in April, Vesak perahera and Upasampada(high ordination) ceremony and Waahala Naaga perahera in May, Poson perahera in June, Esala perahera in July/August and Karthika Mangalya -Aloka pooja in November. Every Wednesday, the Nanamura Mangalya ceremony is performed in the Temple of the Tooth.
A ‘Sila Vyaparaya’ (Religious observances campaign) being conducted for about six hundred observers of ‘Ata Sil’ (Eight precepts) . Programmes include Buddhist lectures, meditation sesssions and prayer chanting.
‘Seth Pirith’ being chanted and after ‘Sil Pavaaranaya’ the sila vyaparaya was concluded. Students from the Temple of tooth (Sri Dalada) Daham Pasala, Asgiriya Buddhist Centre singing ‘Budhu Guna Gee’.(Buddhist songs) To conclude the Poson (Full Moon) Poya activities, later in the evening, a perahera with about ten elephants, dancers, drummers, flag bearers and torch bearers parades three times round the Temple of the Tooth Palace square. Hundreds of devotees come to venerate and pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Sri Dalada Maligawa on Poya days.
The Mihindu Perahera commemorates of the visit of Maha Thera Mahinda who introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka on a Poson Poya day.Temple of tooth – Massive crowds worship at the Temple of The Tooth (Sri Dalada)The Sacred Tooth Relic exposition at the Temple of the Tooth, which is being held at the Temple of The Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy) had drawn over 1.2 million devotees during the last few days.
Daily queues of four persons abreast are formed in the afternoon and extend along Sri Sangaraja Mawatha upto Maha Maya College and other queues on Dharmapala Mawatha also extend very far every day during this event.
Though rains beat down in the afternoons or evenings, pilgrims remain in queues and voluntary religious organisations and individuals provide drinks and refreshments to the pilgrims.
But the influx of heavy traffic mainly carrying pilgrims to the city in the afternoon creates traffic congestion and some of the roads have been closed to traffic, especially those near the Temple of the Tooth Sri Dalada Maligawa. Large crowds congregate in the city from morning to worship the Tooth Relic.
Countless millions of devotees have so far worshipped at the Sacred Temple of the Tooth at the exposition at the Sri Temple of Tooth Dalada Maligawa over the years.
During the event daily large crowds throng to Temple of Tooth Kandy to worship the exposition and the queues which are 3 or 4 lines in breadth extend upto Vidyartha College. There are several other queues too along Sri Sangaraja Mawatha which extend upto Temple of Tooth Mahamaya College and also along Dharmapala Mawatha.
The very hot sunshine in the mornings and the rains in the afternoons do not discourage the large crowds who wend their way for their turn to worship at the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Many organisations and individuals provide free refreshments and drinks to those in the queues.
There are also mobile toilets for the convenience of the crowds The Kandy Police under the direction of the Central Province DIG Pujitha Jayasundera perform good servicein helping the crowds with their courteous approac.But the main problem faced by the residents and the visitors to Kandy is traffic jams and congestion resulting from a very large number of vehicles coming into the city and leaving the city. This is experienced mostly in the afternoons.
A couple of roads near the Sri Dalada Maligawa have been closed for better control of the large crowds and as a result, traffic from the Katugastota side has been diverted through either cemetery road or the turn off from D.S. Senanayake Veediya into Haras Weediya, Yatinuwara Veediya and the upper section of Colombo Street.
The Kandy Police has also decided on a temporary measure to ease the traffic jams to make William Gopallawa Mawatha one way from the Hospital junction upto Gatambe. . Only vehicles leaving Kandy will be permitted to use this road.Likewise the old Peradeniya Road is also one way from Gatambe and only vehicles coming into Kandy will be permitted to use this road.Large crowds are seen in Kandy in the mornings too to worship the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Temple of the Tooth.
Temple of tooth Interiors. In striking contrast to the plain exterior, the interiors of the temple buildings are richly carved and decorated with inlaid woods, ivory, and lacquer.
Mahinda Thero, the son of India's emperor Ashoka visited Sri Lanka
in 247 B.C.King Devanampiyatissa was
hunting deer in the wilderness around Mihintale, Mahinda Thero appeared before him. Mahinda Thero asked the king a riddle
about mango trees. After answering the riddle, King Devanampiyatissa became a
Buddhist and declared Buddhism the state religion Maha Viharaya, the monastery, which was built by king Devanampiyatissa
became famous throughout the world as the center of Theravadi Buddhist learning. King Devanampiyatissa
constructed 1840 granite steps from the foot of the
hill up to the shrine with a pinnacle. This stairway had been described as "A stairway to Heaven" by the English
writer Milton' Here, ruins of a large hospital, a large monastery, inscriptions and beautiful ponds, a medicinal sauna
bath, surgical instruments and persian bronze utensils can be seen even today.............
The fact that the Buddha visited the spot on a Wesak day on the invitation of King Maniakkhika is given in the historic epics of Sri Lanka.The Naga King, according to these chronicles had invited the Buddha to a repast at this spot which following the expounding of the Dhamma was consecrated and on which the King had built a vehera wherein the Buddha's hair and the utensils use at the repast together with the seat on which the Buddha sat were buried.
However with the advent of time and the destruction of the vihara by the foreign invaders has resulted in the original dageba being lost today.
Kaleniya Vihara however, received its hallowed status and became a place of Buddhist worship after venerable Mahinda brought the Dhamma to this country. According to the Mahawansa King Devanampiyatissa's brother Uttiya renovated the vihara for the first time. He is also said to have built the first Quaters of the Monks (Sanghawasa) there.
Historical evidence shows that the Kelaniya Vihara was at its highest glory during the Kotte Era. By the time the Portuguese conquered the country considerable land had been donated by the kings to the Kelaniya Vihara, and when in 1510 the Portuguese entered and destroyed the secret temple. They had confiscated this land preventing Buddhists from worshiping at the temple.
Restrictions placed on the development of Kelaniya were reduced with the advent of the Dutch. They in 1767 perhaps in order to gain King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha's good will permitted him to develop Kelaniya Vihara. Thus the reconstruction of the Vihara was undertaken by the then Chief incumbent Venerable Mapitigama Buddharakkhita. He was provided with funds from the treasury. The King was so overjoyed at the way the work was handled that further grants of lands had been given to the vihara.
It's
festival time in Kataragama, the holy city in south Sri Lanka. It's one of the
biggest religious festivals for Hindu devotees. Many Buddhists too participate
in the weeklong festival. Today is the Maha erahera the day when the main
procession is held and the water-cutting ceremony will be held tomorrow.
Although the Kataragama festival had been held for a very long time, even in
the early part of the 20th century, the trek to Kataragama was a tedious one.
The area was covered by thick jungle where wild animals roamed. Malaria was
prevalent in the area and at that time it was a deadly disease. An account
written by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, distinguished member of the Ceylon
Civil Service, published in the prestigious Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society in 1924 describes the conditions in the early days: "There is on
the South-east coast of Ceylon a lonely hamlet known as Kataragama in the heart
of a forest haunted by bears, elephants and leopards and more deadly malaria.
The Ceylon Government thinks of Kataragama especially twice a year, when
arrangements have to be made for pilgrims and precautions taken against
epidemics. Hardly anyone goes there except in connection with the pilgrimage.
General Browning, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, visited this desolate spot
in 1819 at the close of military operations in the Uva country, and seven
decades later Sir Arthur Gordon (afterwards Lord Stanmore) who attended the
festival in July, 1889. Sportsmen are drawn to
this region by the fame of its sport, but Kataragama itself is outside the pale
of their curiosity. Few even of our educated classes know its venerable history
and association." It is possibly because of these difficult and hard
conditions that over the years the pilgrims were warned to be on their best
behavior in the 'deiyange rata' - the land of the gods. They were told that they
should be extremely careful in what they do, what they say and even what they
eat. No fish or meat is consumed during the pilgrimage- they all remain
vegetarians. They had to guard their tongue and be mindful always that they
were in god's land. The strenuous journey is also echoed in the popular saying 'Denagena giyoth
Kataragama Nodena giyoth ataramaga' -
if you know the way you will reach
Kataragama if not, you will be stranded. The devotees developed a feeling of
fear.
With the development of a network of roads in the country, the trip to
Kataragama gradually became an easy one. Yet the holiness attached to this
sacred place did not
change. The discipline continued to be maintained.
change. The discipline continued to be maintained.
How did Kataragama become the land of the gods? Kataragama known to
Hindus of Sri Lanka and South India as "Katirhamam" has a famous shrine dedicated to
Lord Katirkaman. The presiding deity is Murugan or Skanda. God Skanda is
considered Sri
Lanka's guardian deity and is identified as one who can bring prosperity and protection.
Lanka's guardian deity and is identified as one who can bring prosperity and protection.
As he is described in the popular Sinhala verse - 'Muhurui sayaki - ath dolasa- ki -
Mayura pita vaahane' he possesses six faces and twelve
hands and his vehicle is the peacock. He is depicted in this form in paintings
and drawings.
As they reach Kataragama, all the
devotees are advised to take a dip in the Menik Ganga which flows alongside the
shrine and cleanse themselves. The water level is often very low and devotees
can conveniently do a bath. Clad in white they will then proceed to the 'devale'.
On reaching the 'devale'
premises, it is
customary to break a coconut on a stone fixed in the soil for the purpose.
While devotees go to Kataragama to make fferings throughout the year, the
annual festival is of special significance when elaborate processions are held,
acts of penance are performed by devotees and a fire-walking ceremony takes
place. On normal days too offerings can be made to the deity at specific times
during which the religious observances are conducted. Devotees gather in
numbers with baskets of fruits in their hands which are handed over to the 'kapurala'-
the lay official in
charge - and his assistants all clad in white. The offerings are taken inside
and a portion is returned for the devotee to consume.
Ash is applied on the forehead of each devotee who also picks up a little
coconut oil from the tall brass lamps and applies on the head. The oil is taken
home to be applied later since many believe this oil helps to cure ill- nesses.
It is with a great sense of relief that devotees get back home. They
return with a feeling of satisfaction that they have been to the god's country.
