The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa,[a] (Sinhala: ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) 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.
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.
Wall painting at Kelaniya Temple of Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Dantha which she carried Gautama Buddha's tooth relic hidden in her hair to Sri Lanka. - Painting by Solias Mendis
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]
Paththirippuwa
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.
Architecture
Inside the Temple of the Tooth
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 MakaraTorana 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
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.
The royal palace is situated to the north of the temple.[10] John Pybus, who was on an embassy in 1762, gives a detailed description of the royal palace.[11]Vikramabahu III of Gampola (r. 1356-1374) and Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu of Kandy (r. 1469-1511) built royal palaces on this site. Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy undertook various decorations to the palace. The Dutch orientalist Philippus Baldaeus visited the palace with General Gerard Pietersz Hulft in 1656. The royal residence was known as "Maha Wasala" in Sinhalese starting in the Polonnaruwa period. The royal palace is also known as "Maligawa"[b] (Palace). There were three Wahalkadas and an 8 feet (2.4 m) high wall used as main entrances. The section of the palace facing the Natha Devale is said to be the oldest. During the beginning of the British period, it was used by the government agent Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet, of Kandy.[10] Successors of D'Oyly have continued to use it as their official residence. Today it is preserved as an archaeological museum. Ulpen Ge and Queens Palace are the associated buildings of the palace.
Audience hall
Audience hall seen here from the northern façade of the temple
The audience hall or magul maduwa is where the Kandyan kings held their court.[12] It was completed during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.[13] The carvings of the wooden pillars which support the wooden roof are an example of wood carving of the Kandyan period. Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha of Kandy built it in 1783. The hall was renovated for the reception of arrival of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales in 1872. Originally the hall was 58 by 35.6 feet (17.7 m × 10.9 m); after renovation, its length was extended by an additional 31.6 feet (9.6 m).[14] Other nearby buildings to the halls believed to be demolished during the British rule. The audience hall was the venue where the Kandyan Convention was drawn up, it was where the convention was read out to the people and where the conference, about the convention, was held on 2 March 1815. That space was later used to erect the Kandy Kachcheri and Kandy Supreme Court. Today it is used for state ceremonies and conserved under the department of archaeology.
Mahamaluwa
Mahamaluwa is public who came to see the annual Esala perahera.[6] Today it contains a statue of Madduma Bandara. The memorial which contains the skull of Keppetipola Disawe is another attraction. The statue of Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha are also located here.
^Wickrematunge, Raine (2 December 2001). "I was a member of the JVP team that attacked the Dalada Maligawa" (Interview). Colombo: The Sunday Leader. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
Seneviratna, Anuradha (1989). "Dalada Maligawa". In Vethara Mahinda Thera (ed.). Kanda Udarata Mahanuwara (in Sinhala) (Sinhala translation ed.). Colombo: Ministry of Cultural affairs (Sri Lanka).
Siriweera, W. I. (2004). History of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Dayawansa Jayakodi & Company. ISBN955-551-257-4.
Wijesooriya, S. (2006). A Concise Sinhala Mahavamsa. Kotte: Participatory Development Forum. ISBN955-9140-31-0.
Brockman, Nobert (2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places, Volume 1. ISBN978-1598846546.
McDaniel, Thomas (2018). Architects of Buddhist Leisure. University of Hawaii. ISBN978-0824876753.
Maduggalle, Sunil J. Raja, the Sri Dalada Maligawa Tusker.
Journals
Lahiri, Latika (1974). "Ceylon and China : The Account of Ceylon in the Dynastic History of the T'ang Period". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 35: 388–391. JSTOR 44138805.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sri Dalada Maligawa.
Sri Dalada Maligawa Official website
ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාවේ දියඅගල
The Kandy Esala Perahera
The Kandy Esala Perahera Magnificent Pageant
May 19, 2023
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The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa a Sinhala ශ ර දළද ම ළ ග ව 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 Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relicශ ර දළද ම ළ ග වதலத ம ள க Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic a World Heritage Site in KandyReligionAffiliationBuddhismLocationLocationKandyCountrySri LankaShown within Sri LankaGeographic coordinates7 17 38 N 80 38 19 E 7 29389 N 80 63861 E 7 29389 80 63861 Coordinates 7 17 38 N 80 38 19 E 7 29389 N 80 63861 E 7 29389 80 63861ArchitectureFounderVimaladharmasuriya I of KandyCompleted1595UNESCO World Heritage SiteTypeCulturalCriteria iv vi Designated1988Reference no 450Websitehttp www sridaladamaligawa lkBhikkhus 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 The temple sustained damage from bombings by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in 1989 and by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1998 However it was fully restored each time Contents 1 History 1 1 Attacks on the building 2 Architecture 3 Associated buildings and structures 3 1 Royal Palace 3 2 Audience hall 3 3 Mahamaluwa 4 See also 5 Notes 5 1 Citations 6 Sources 6 1 Journals 7 External linksHistory EditMain article Relic of the tooth of the Buddha Wall painting at Kelaniya Temple of Princess Hemamali and her husband Prince Dantha which she carried Gautama Buddha s tooth relic hidden in her hair to Sri Lanka Painting by Solias Mendis 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 Paththirippuwa 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 Attacks on the building Edit Main article 1998 Temple of the Tooth attack 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 Architecture Edit Inside the Temple of the Tooth 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 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 Associated buildings and structures EditRoyal Palace Edit Main article Royal Palace of Kandy Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy built the Royal Palace of Kandy The royal palace is situated to the north of the temple 10 John Pybus who was on an embassy in 1762 gives a detailed description of the royal palace 11 Vikramabahu III of Gampola r 1356 1374 and Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu of Kandy r 1469 1511 built royal palaces on this site Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy undertook various decorations to the palace The Dutch orientalist Philippus Baldaeus visited the palace with General Gerard Pietersz Hulft in 1656 The royal residence was known as Maha Wasala in Sinhalese starting in the Polonnaruwa period The royal palace is also known as Maligawa b Palace There were three Wahalkadas and an 8 feet 2 4 m high wall used as main entrances The section of the palace facing the Natha Devale is said to be the oldest During the beginning of the British period it was used by the government agent Sir John D Oyly 1st Baronet of Kandy 10 Successors of D Oyly have continued to use it as their official residence Today it is preserved as an archaeological museum Ulpen Ge and Queens Palace are the associated buildings of the palace Audience hall Edit Audience hall seen here from the northern facade of the temple The audience hall or magul maduwa is where the Kandyan kings held their court 12 It was completed during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha 13 The carvings of the wooden pillars which support the wooden roof are an example of wood carving of the Kandyan period Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha of Kandy built it in 1783 The hall was renovated for the reception of arrival of Albert Edward Prince of Wales in 1872 Originally the hall was 58 by 35 6 feet 17 7 m 10 9 m after renovation its length was extended by an additional 31 6 feet 9 6 m 14 Other nearby buildings to the halls believed to be demolished during the British rule The audience hall was the venue where the Kandyan Convention was drawn up it was where the convention was read out to the people and where the conference about the convention was held on 2 March 1815 That space was later used to erect the Kandy Kachcheri and Kandy Supreme Court Today it is used for state ceremonies and conserved under the department of archaeology Mahamaluwa Edit Mahamaluwa is public who came to see the annual Esala perahera 6 Today it contains a statue of Madduma Bandara The memorial which contains the skull of Keppetipola Disawe is another attraction The statue of Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha are also located here 12345678910111213141Temple of the Tooth building complex2Mahawahalkada Main entrance 3Moat4Paththirippuwa Octagon 5Handun Kunama6Golden Canopy7Temple of the Tooth Museum New palace 8Royal Palace of Kandy9National Museum of Kandy10International Buddhist Museum Old courts building 11Kandy Lake12Ulpange Queens Bathing Pavilion 13Jayatilleke Mandapaya14Udawatta Kele SanctuarySee also EditBuddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum Cetiya Constantino of Braganza Daṭhavaṃsa Diyawadana Nilame chief lay custodian Esala Perahera Gaspar Jorge de Leao Pereira Relics in Sri Lanka associated with Buddha Relic of the tooth of the BuddhaNotes Edit ප ජන ය දත ධ ත මන ද රය pujaniya dat dhatu mandiraya ම ළ ග ව maḷigava Citations Edit a b c d Abeywardena 2004 p 25harvnb error no target CITEREFAbeywardena 2004 help Brockman p 561 sfn error no target CITEREFBrockman help Seneviratna 1989 p 90 1harvnb error no target CITEREFSeneviratna 1989 help a b Seneviratna 1989 p 92harvnb error no target CITEREFSeneviratna 1989 help Wickrematunge Raine 2 December 2001 I was a member of the JVP team that attacked the Dalada Maligawa Interview Colombo The Sunday Leader Retrieved 9 April 2012 a b Abeywardena 2004 p 28 Seneviratna 1989 p 93 Abeywardena 2004 p 26 Seneviratna 1989 p 94 a b Abeywardena 2004 p 36 Seneviratna 1989 p 73 Abeywardena 2004 p 428 Rootsweb ancestry com Seneviratna 1989 p 87Sources EditAbeywardena H A P 2004 Kandurata Praveniya in Sinhala 1st ed Colombo Central Bank of Sri Lanka ISBN 9789555750929 Seneviratna Anuradha 1989 Dalada Maligawa In Vethara Mahinda Thera ed Kanda Udarata Mahanuwara in Sinhala Sinhala translation ed Colombo Ministry of Cultural affairs Sri Lanka Siriweera W I 2004 History of Sri Lanka Colombo Dayawansa Jayakodi amp Company ISBN 955 551 257 4 Wijesooriya S 2006 A Concise Sinhala Mahavamsa Kotte Participatory Development Forum ISBN 955 9140 31 0 Brockman Nobert 2011 Encyclopedia of Sacred Places Volume 1 ISBN 978 1598846546 McDaniel Thomas 2018 Architects of Buddhist Leisure University of Hawaii ISBN 978 0824876753 Maduggalle Sunil J Raja the Sri Dalada Maligawa Tusker Journals Edit Lahiri Latika 1974 Ceylon and China The Account of Ceylon in the Dynastic History of the T ang Period Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 35 388 391 JSTOR 44138805 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sri Dalada Maligawa Sri Dalada Maligawa Official website ශ ර දළද ම ළ ග ව ද යඅගල The Kandy Esala Perahera The Kandy Esala Perahera Magnificent Pageant Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Temple of the Tooth amp oldid 1148500033, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
