THE TEMPLE OF TOOTH, KANDY SRI LANKA

 


The closed shrine, for worship, of the Temple of Tooth Relic (Sri Dalida Maligawa) in Kandy City, Sri Lanka. 


The roof of the former Royal Palace Complex, accommodating the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy City, Sri Lanka.  


Mothers with their babies sitting in front of the Buddha's Tooth, seeking blessings from Buddha in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 

The Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy is Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist shrine, famed for enshrining a tooth relic of Buddha. The Buddha’s tooth relic is believed to have been brought to Sri Lanka from India in the 4th century CE. Tradition holds that whoever safeguards the tooth has the right to rule Sri Lanka. The relic was moved between capitals over centuries and finally brought to Kandy in the late 16th century. The first temple in Kandy to house the relic was built by King Vimaladharmasuriya I in 1600. It was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1603. A second temple built by King Rajasinha II (reigned 1635–1687) was later burned during Dutch attacks. The present temple complex dates to the late 17th–18th centuries, built and expanded under Kandyan kings between 1687–1707 and 1747–1782, notably King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe. In January 1998, a bomb attack by Tamil separatists damaged the temple’s façade and roof. Restoration returned it to its former appearance. The complex showcases classical Kandyan architecture, with white outer walls, tiled roofs, and a two‑storey pink main shrine building surrounded by a moat. It stands within the former Royal Palace of Kandy precincts, next to the artificial Kandy Lake, with other shrines and museums in the same compound. The relic is not visible to visitors. It is kept in a nested series of gold caskets shaped like a dagoba (stupa) inside a heavily guarded inner chamber.




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