Kandy was the capital of the Singhalese Kings from 1592 to 1815. Fortified by a terrain of
mountains and the difficult approach Kandy managed to operate in independence from Dutch,
Portuguese and the English till 1815. The city is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO, in
part due to this temple.
The Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of
Kandy. 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 Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, the temple which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of The
Buddha, is possibly the most sacred Buddhist shrine in the world. It is venerated not only by
Buddhists in Sri Lanka but by Buddhists all over the world.
King Wimaladharmasuriya I (1592 – 1603), the first to select Kandy as the ruling capital
originally built a two storied Temple for the Relic and brought the tooth relic from Delgamuwa
near Kuruwita in Sabaragamuwa which has been hidden for protection. Remains of this temple
no longer exist. Wimaladharmasuriya II (1686 – 1706) built a three storied temple and his son
king Viraparakrama Narendrasinha (1706 – 1738), the last Sinhalese king to rule the country,
built a new two storied temple temple seeing that the old temple built by his father has decayed.
The last king of Sri lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (1797 – 1814) built the Pattirippuwa (the
Octagon). Originally, the Pattirippuwa (octagon) was part of the royal palace. It was used by the
king to address his fellow countrymen. Today the Pattirippuwa has become a part of the temple
and houses ancient textures written in ola leaves.
The entrance to the temple complex is through the “Maha Vahalkada”. There are two walls on
the sides of the “Vahalkada”. The outer wall is called “Walakulu Bamma” (wall of clouds). This
same pattern is also used in the wall surrounding the Kandy lake. The inner wall is called
“Diyareli Bamma” (wall of water ripples). Both these walls are built with holes to place oil
lanterns during the night.
After passing the “Vahalkada” and the moat, you come to a “Makara Thorana“. Next is the
tunnel “ambarawa“. Passing this you come to the ground floor of the temple complex. The lower
floor of the building called “pallemaluwa“. This inner chamber is fortified with a large wooden
door and decorated with bronze and ivory. The area in front of the door is called the “Hevisi
Mandapaya” (Drummers Courtyard) where the daily rituals are carried out.
The tooth relic is kept in the upper floor in the chamber called “Vadahitina Maligawa” The door
of this chamber is covered with gold silver and ivory. The tooth relic is encased in seven gold
caskets studded with precious stones. The outer casket is studded by precious stones offered to
the tooth relic by various rulers.
On the right to the relic is the “Perahara Karanduwa” (relic chamber used in the annual Asela
Mangalaya perahara procession) kept inside a bullet proof glass display. This has been donated
by India. Over the relic chamber there is a golden lotus flower studded with precious stones
hanging from the ceiling.
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