Kandy Lake
The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy is located in Sri Lanka's third ancient capital, Kandy. Founded in 1595, the temple enshrines Sri Lanka's national treasure—the Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Adjacent to the Kandy Royal Palace, it stands as the most sacred site in Sri Lanka. 🦷 The Tooth Relic is a physical relic of the Buddha. The one preserved in Sri Lanka is his left upper canine tooth. Legend has it that in the 4th century AD, a princess from the war-torn Kalinga Kingdom in southeastern India brought it to Sri Lanka and presented it to the king of Anuradhapura. Even today, the ruins of a temple dedicated to the Tooth Relic can be found within the ancient city of Anuradhapura. The relic would regularly be paraded to the Abhayagiri Vihara for worship, as recorded in Faxian's Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms.😊 🦷 However, during the Anuradhapura period, due to the presence of the Sacred Bo Tree, the Tooth Relic did not hold the supreme status it later gained. During the Polonnaruwa era, as royal power fluctuated, the Tooth Relic truly became a symbol of legitimate political authority. It was enshrined in the Atadage, Vatadage, and Hetadage within the Quadrangle, guarded day and night by official troops 🛡️. 🦷 After the 13th century, with the invasion of the Tamils, the island fell into division and chaos. For about 300 years, power shifted among South Indian forces, local royal families, powerful ministers, and in-laws, giving rise to kingdoms like the Jaffna Kingdom in the northwest and the Kotte Kingdom in the southwest. The Tooth Relic, like the Imperial Seal of China during the late Han Dynasty, changed hands with power, though it remained mostly in the hands of the Sinhalese regime.😂 🦷 In this context, Kandy, nestled in the central mountains and once a refuge for monastic communities, became a gathering place for Sinhalese. In 1474 AD, it was designated as the capital by regional rulers. In 1521 AD, Kandy broke away from the Kotte Kingdom. As the Portuguese conquered the Kotte Kingdom (1597 AD) and the Jaffna Kingdom (1619 AD), Kandy emerged as the sole independent local . It is said that the Portuguese invasion of Kandy in the mid-16th century damaged the Tooth Relic, a claim the Sinhalese deny.😊 🦷 In the 1590s, King Vimala Dharma Suriya I (r. 1591-1604), who seized the throne, claimed to have regained the Tooth Relic. He built the Temple of the Tooth Relic within the Kandy Royal Palace, using the worship of the relic to consolidate his power. Supported by a stable regime, the temple was expanded between 1687-1707 and 1747-1782, with its iconic white pagoda added in 1803—this is the temple we see today.💕 🦷 The core of the temple stands two stories high, supported by 64 wooden pillars, with exquisitely carved beams and painted decorations. The Tooth Relic is housed in a lavishly adorned golden stupa on the second floor, open for viewing only during specific daily ceremonies. Since 1775, the historic Tooth Relic Festival has been held here: over 7 consecutive days in July-August, the relic is paraded through the city on elephantback, accompanied by hundreds of elaborately decorated elephants 🐘, thousands of dancers, and drummers. Crowds line the streets to witness the grand spectacle. 🦷 Surrounding the temple today are European-style royal audience halls, a Buddhist museum, and traditional residences of the king and his consorts—now a national museum and a small specialized museum. Just outside lies the beautiful Kandy Lake, with a Christian church and a Hindu temple nearby, reflecting the city's diverse cultural tapestry 🌆. #ToothRelicTemple #Kandy #SriLanka# Kandytime#Kandynice
