TOOTH TEMPLE IN KANDY-

TOOTH TEMPLE IN KANDY-

Tooth temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka is a world famous temple and it was the most important item of my Srilankan eternity.The tooth temple  is within the royal palace complex of Kandy,where the  Srilankan Sinhalese kings  protected the relic with great  respect and care. My guide ,who was himself a Buddhist,told me that the relic which is the left canine tooth of Lord Buddha rests within a solid gold lotus flower encased in  a jewelled casket.It is considered the only surviving relic of Lord Buddha and Sri Lankas most important possession.

When lord Buddha passed away and his last rites was  being performed in Kushinagar India,one of his follower got an opportunity to recover the pious tooth  from the sacred pyre. In due course of time, realising the importance and gravity of the tooth,he handed the relic to the king of Kalinga (located in Orrisa,present name is Odhisa),who was himself a Buddhist. Afterwards during  the unrest and war period, in view of the safety of  sacred tooth,the king Guhasiva decided to send  the relic to Sri Lanka  through his daughter Hemamala.Princess Hemamala  hiding the tooth in her hairs,with his husband prince Dantha brought it to Sri Lanka,as disguised traveller . When they arrived in Anuradhapura,the sacred tooth was handed to the king Kirti Sri Meghavarna and since then the relic remained in royal palaces of Sri Lanka,until it reached the last royal palace ,now located in Kandy.

  Some of the photographs of Tooth temple are as follows-                     

(Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha)



                            

(Temple view from a hilltop)

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