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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MOKSHA (SALVATION) -

Although Hindu religion is very old but after the growth of Jainism and Buddhism, was brought back by Shankracharya along with his two associates Madhava and Ramanuj. Shankaracharya,born in Kerala travelled vastly throughout India. While reviving Hinduism,he also established four maths(monasteries i.e places of learning ) in four corners of India namely JyotIr Math in Uttaranchal; Govardhan Math in Orissa; Shringeri Math in Karnatak and Sharda Math in Gujrat. Shankaracharya's teaching placed great emphasis on the holy book Gita and Upanishads and the aspects of Atma and Parmatma.

Hindu religion expects every follower to adopt such a spiritual life which leads him to Moksha (Salvation).Attainment of Moksha is the ultimate aim of spiritual life, also the ultimate aim of every hindu. According to hindu religion, moksha is the liberation from suffering involved in being, subject to the cycle of repeated birth and death. One can attain Moksha only when he or she has either not committed any sin or is forgiven by the supreme God .In Kaliyug, people commit sins, knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes our deeds hurt others; sometimes we could not lead a spiritual life due to present day’s lifestyle.

A pilgrimage is a journey to a shrine or other location of spiritual importance to a person’s belief and faith. India is the land of Gods, several deities and diverse religions. Great religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism have originated on the Indian soil. Pilgrimage is a path which leads us to attainment of Moksha.

ASHOK VATIKA IN SRI LANKA -

ASHOK VATIKA IN SRILANKA-

During my visit to Sri Lanka last week, I visited the legendary "ASHOK VATIKA" and at this holy place,we decided to stay in Grand Hotel (www.grandhotelnuwaraeliya.com), which is centrally located in Nuwara Eliya, adjacent to the  Nuwara Eliya Golf Club. 

This is a very important religious place for Hindus.This is the place where Ravana,the king of Lanka kept Mata Sita after her abduction.Even now an old hindu temple exists here with the sacred idols of the Lord Rama, Sitaji, Lakshman and Hanumanji.It is believed that in the Ramayan era, Sugriva the then ruler of monkey kingdom, located in south west of India, was a great friend and devotee of Lord Rama and he ordered his armies to search Mata Sita in all four corners of the earth. Hanuman with his divine powers,while searching for Mata Sita ,crossed the ocean and ultimately reached this place.  The "foot prints" of Hanumanji are marked hear and can still be seen very near to the main temple.This temple is known as "Seetha Eliya Sri Seethai Amman Temple" .Temple opening times are from 8.00am to 1.00pm and from 2.00pm to 6.30pm. This temple is located on Wellimada road in the Nuwara Eliya area, which is the highest as well as the most beautiful hill station of Sri Lanka Central Province.This shrine is about 6 to 7 km from the main Nuwara Eliya town and presently located  in Hakagala natural reserve.There is a temple committee to manage this temple.

Following are some of the photographs of Ashok Vatika are as follows-

                    

FOOT PRINTS OF HANUMANJI