The Dalada Maligawa which enshrines the Tooth Relic of the Buddha is the holiest shrine in the Sri Lanka Buddhist world. According to the tradition the Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka when King Kirthi Sri Meghawanna, alias Kithsirimewan, was ruling in Anuradhapura (301-328) - by a princess, Hemamala, and her husband, Dantha, from India. The King received the relic with great reverence and kept it within a shrine within the royal palace, ordering an annual festival be held in its honour.
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| By the 12th century
the Tooth Relic had become the palladium of Sinhala Royalty, conferring on
its custodian the right to the sovereignty of
Sri Lanka. Hence the ruling king took every precaution to protect
it. In those days the capital of the kingdom always shifted from place to
place which meant the tooth had to be moved by the current rulers or by
Buddhist monks. The tooth has travel far and wide throughout the country
and during its’ history.
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 When
the capital shifted from Anaradhapura to Polonnaruwa one of the earliest
buildings to be erected by King Vijayabahu I (1055-1110) was the Dalada
Maligawa immediately to the North of the Kings palace. Magnificent
edifices were built to house the tooth relic.
When Kalinga Magha invaded Polonnaruwa, a Buddhist monk named Vaageeshwara fled from Polonnaruwa to Kothmale (located in our communities region). He guarded the relic in a cave until the regime of King Vijayabahu III (1232-1226) when the relic was taken to Beligala. After King Vijayabahu III’s regime, his son, Parakramababu II brought the relic to Dambadeniya and held a great ceremony. During the regime of Buwanekabahu I (1273-1284) a King from Pandya , Aaryachakrawarthi, raided the capital , captured the tooth relic and took it to India.
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The present two storeyed main shrine is considered to be the work of king Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe (1707-1739) who was the last King of the Sinhala Dynasty of Sri Lanka. The well known Pattiruppuwa, the octagonal watch tower, was erected by the last King of kandy, Sri Viknama Rajasingha (1798-1815). He was also responsible for building the Kandy Lake.
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 In
1815, according to an agreement, the Relic fell into British hands. By
1818 it was taken back into Buddhist hands.
Still today, the significance and traditions of the tooth relic remain. Even in an era of a democratically elected parliament, the head of state pays homage to the tooth relic as one of their first official acts. Each year, the countrys biggest Perahera is held in Kandy. Actually the Kandy Perahera is the most magnificent cultural event in Sri Lanka .Every year in August, on the full moon (poya) this event takes place. Most parts of the Perahera are held at night . People in whole parts of the island gather to Kandy. Not only locals but also foreigners from whole parts of the world come to Sri Lanka to see this great event. We can see a lot of beautiful scenes in the Perahera; Udarata (Kandyan) dancers; Pahatharata (low country) dancers; a lot of decorated elephants; Kasapupurawanno (whip crackers) and the Nilamevaru (head of the temple) will travel from Natha, Katharagama,,Patthini and Vishnu (these are all temples in Sri Lanka). Various types of dances will also perform from these dewalayas’ (temples). The tooth relic is carried on a beautifully decorated elephant in the Perahera along the street in Kandy. Thousands of people gather to Kandy at night to see this Perahera. Premalal Wijesinghe Email: prem_upul@hotmail.com. |
In 1287 Buwanekabahu ‘s
son, King Parakramabahu III brought the relic back to Sri Lanka. After A
few years the Relic was brought to Gampola from Kurunegala and to Kotte
from Gampola. When the Kotte kingdom fell into Portugese hands, they
destroyed all the Buddhist temples. So the Buddhist monks fled from the
city carrying the relic and it was hidden in a secret place called
Delgamuwa in the Ratnapura district. After the Portugese were defeated by
King Vimaladharmasuriya I (1592-1604), he built a two storeyed Dalada
Maligawa in Kandy and brought the relic in great ceremony. After his death
however, it was destroyed by the Dutch.