>>> Dalada maligawa

The Sacred Tooth Relic (Dālada) of the Buddha is the most venerated object of worship for Buddhists. Its present house, the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Dālada Māligāwa) in Kandy, Sri Lanka is considered the foremost sacred place of worship in the Buddhist world.


Sri Dalada Maligawa
(Temple of the Tooth Relic)

Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese 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 in Sri Lanka. 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 other tooth relic is believed to be enshrined in a stupa called Somawathi Chethiya.

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 had 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 had 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 follow 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 ot 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 Asala 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.

On to the left of the temple is the new building which houses the taxidermised remains of the Maligawa Tusker - Raja. This magnificent tusker was captured in the jungles of Eravur in the Batticaloa District 1925. He was purchased by Tikiri Banda Manampitiya Dissawe for Rs 3,300/- in 1937 and was donated to the temple by him. For over 50 years Raja carried the golden casket which carried the tooth relic and in 1984 he was declared as a national treasure by the government. This is only the second time a tusker has been declared a national treasure. Raja died In 1988 after a long illness and then it was decided that he to be taxidermised. This is first time a tusker has been taxidermised.


Historical places associated with Dalada Maligava

According to Mandarampura Puwata, the Kandyan Kingdom was established after king Vimaladarmasuriya ascendent to the throne defeating Yamasinha Bandara in 1592 AD.

The king immediately embraced Buddhism and brought the sacred Tooth Relic to Kandy then known as Senkadagalapura and later came to be known Sri Wardhanapura (meaning the city that increases her beauty) from Delgamuva and built the present Dalada Maligava.

The temple was originally built in two storeys by king Vimaladarmasuriya and subsequently erected a three storeyed building to house the tooth relic. The Pattirippuva or the octagon with the moat in front was added later by the last king of Kandy. Along the moat runs a brick wall, the Diyaweli Bemma or the "Waveswell wall". In the main building the first chamber is called the pallemale and upper chamber is called Uda Male or Vedahitina Maligava where the tooth relic resides.
 
 Natha Devale
The oldest of the four directly faces the Dalada Maligava. It has the rare distinction of being identified as the oldest building in the ancient capital dating back to the 14th century and is said to have built by Vikramabahu III. The God Natha to whom a deistic shrine was dedicated is taken to be the power deity who influenced the political affairs at the time. The shrine shows the influence of the Dravidian school of architecture.
Adahanamaluwa Gedige Asgiriya
Adahanamaluwa Gedige Asgiriya

Natha Devale receives a special prominence during the times of the kings. Hence statuswise it ranked first among four devales. It played an important role on king's behalf in the affairs of the state. A new king is obliged to call on this devale and in front of the image of Natha, select the name by which he is to be known. Also this devale played an important role in preparing and distributing the Nanu or medicinal herbs that go with the first bath taken in the Sinhala New Year. A tradition which comes down from the time of the Sinhalese kings. Natha Devale possessed a flag depicting Natha deiya. An image of Natha with left hand broken and seated in the Raja Leela is housed in the inner sanctum of the devalaya.

Visnu Devalaya

Visnu Devalaya popularly known as Maha Devalaya, is situated in front of the main gate of the Natha Devale across the road and near the Royal Palace in the Deva Sanhinde. The history of this place is not known. Robert Knox called the deity in it as Alut Nuvara Deiyyo or the God of Alut Nuvara indicating that the god was originally residing in Alut Nuvara in the Kegalle district. According to another folk legend the god residing at Devundara in the deep south was also brought to Alut Nuvara. This god is called Upulvan or 'blue coloured' (god Rama?) and later identified as Visnu because of the colour. However, in later times, the resident god in this devale came to be known as Visnu and a separate shrine-room for the local god - Dedimunda of Alut Nuvara Devale was built near by the main Devale.

According to mythology the Buddha entrusted to Sakra (Indra) the task of preserving the Buddhist dispensation (sasana) in Sri Lanka and Sakra in turn delegated this power to Visnu. He is believed to be a future Buddha after Natha.

In the 15th century the God at Devundara, as described in the Paravi Sandesaya, a Sinhalese Sandesa (epistle) poem, is viewed as a powerful god and a vanquisher of Asuras, full of power, glory an might. Therefore, it may be said that this god described as Upulvan is perhaps Rama. This hypothesis is supported by the above named poem where the Devale in Kandy is referred to as Rama Devale. It is also interesting to note that this Devale had in its possession a cloth canopy depicting the battle of Rama and Rawana.

During the time of the Kings, the Abhiseka Mangalle or the anointing ceremony of the newly appointed King was held in the Maha Devale. It is believed a gold plated Conchshell was offered to this shrine by King Rajadhi Rajasinha after the defeat of the Dutch at Gurubebila.

Lonely Planet review for Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Just north of the lake, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic - a tooth of the Buddha. The temple sustained damage when a bomb was detonated - by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to the government - near the main entrance in early 1998, but the scars have been repaired.

The tooth is said to have been snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre in 543 BC, and was smuggled into Sri Lanka during the 4th century AD, hidden in the hair of a princess. At first it was taken to Anuradhapura, but with the ups and downs of Sri Lankan history it moved from place to place before eventually ending up at Kandy. In 1283 it was carried back to India by an invading army but was soon brought back again by King Parakramabahu III.

Gradually, the tooth came to assume more and more importance as a symbol of sovereignty; it was believed that whoever had custody of the tooth relic had the right to rule the island. In the 16th century the Portuguese, in one of their worst spoilsport moods, seized what they claimed was the tooth, took it away and burnt it with Catholic fervour in Goa. 'Not so', is the Sinhalese rejoinder; the Portuguese had been fobbed off with a replica tooth and the real incisor remained safe. Even today there are rumours that the real tooth is hidden somewhere secure, as it has been so many times in its past, and that the tooth kept here is a replica.

The present Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic was constructed mainly under Kandyan kings from 1687 to 1707 and from 1747 to 1782, and, in fact, the entire temple complex was part of the Kandyan royal palace. It is an imposing pink-painted structure surrounded by a deep moat. The octagonal tower in the moat was built by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha and used to house an important collection of ola (talipot-palm leaf) manuscripts. However, this section of the temple was heavily damaged in the 1998 bomb blast.

The main tooth shrine - a two-storey rectangular building known as the Vahahitina Maligawa - occupies the centre of a paved courtyard. The eye-catching gilded roof over the relic chamber was added by President Ranasinghe Premadasa and paid for by Japanese donors. The bomb blast of 1998 has exposed part of the front wall to reveal at least three layers of 18th- to 20th-century paintings depicting the perahera and various Jataka (Buddha life stories).

It's nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of this temple to most Sri Lankan Buddhists, who believe they must complete at least one pilgrimage to the temple in their lifetime. Worshipping at the temple is thought to improve one's karmic lot immeasurably.

The tooth shrine itself receives a constant flow of worshippers and flocks of tourists, with fewer tourists in the morning than in the evening. Wear clothes that cover your legs and your shoulders and remove your shoes (which are kept by shoe minders near the entrance).

During pujas (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists. However, you don't actually see the tooth. It's kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (stupa), which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminishing size and eventually the tooth itself.

Most visitors are only allowed to view the stupa casket from the doorway, which is around 3m from the actual altar. Guards keep the queue moving so that no-one gets more than 10 or 15 seconds to see the inside of the shrine room. Occasionally you'll see VIPs being invited to enter the inner sanctum for a closer look. Thai and Japanese nationals - because of their country's generous temple donations - may be allowed into the tooth room upon advance request to the temple guardians.

Behind the shrine stands the three-storey Alut Maligawa, a newer and larger shrine hall displaying dozens of bronze sitting Buddhas donated by Thai devotees. In fact, the design of this floor is intended to resemble a Thai Buddhist shrine hall as a tribute to the fact that Thai monks re-established Sri Lanka's ordination lineage during the reign of King Kirti Sri Rajasinha. The upper two floors of the Alut Maligawa contain the Sri Dalada Museum with a stunning array of gilded and bejewelled reliquaries and gifts to the temple. There is also a sobering display of photographs of the damage caused by the truck bomb in 1988.

To the north inside the compound, and accessible only via the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is the 19th-century Audience Hall, an open-air pavilion with stone columns carved to look like wooden pillars in the classic Kandyan style. Adjacent to this, in the Rajah Tusker Hall, you can view the stuffed remains of Rajah, the Maligawa tusker who died in 1988.

Traditionally the perahera conducted by the Visnu devale is believed to have taken place to commemorate the birth of Visnu, or the victory of King Gajabahu over the Cholas. During the Esala Perahara this Devale plays an important role by supplying the remaining Devales with the Kapa or the sacred pole necessary for planting at the Kapsituwime Mangalle before the perahara commences. A ritual known as Valiyakun Netima is performed at the Visnu Devale immediately after the perahera for seven successive days in order to seek divine forgiveness for any lapses in the pageant and also to give profuse thanks to the Divine powers.

Architecturally, the Visnu Devale has a long building with a storeyed shrine at the end. The Kandyan devales are generally plainer than Hindu kovils. The roof over the two storeyed garbha or sanctum has taken the place of the dome.

The upper square carries a small balcony or verandah supported by slender wooden pillars. In front of the sanctum is the digge or the long hall intended today for the devotees to pray in but in the olden days it was a dancing hall in honour of the resident deity. The dance performed was called digge netuma. Today in this hall is also found the palanquin used in the Perahara.

In recent years many alterations and additions have been made to the buildings by the Basnayake Nilames or the custodians to suit their taste, thus maiming the beauty of the traditional Kandyan architecture.
Pattini Devale

The Pattini Devale dedicated to Goddess Pattini is situated to the west of the Natha devale. In the past, the two devales were separated by a cross-road called Et Vidiya or the Elephant Street which is no more. The history of the devale is not known. That it is at least four centuries old, there is no doubt, for Robert Knox makes references to the perahara of Pattini Devale.

Pattini, the goddess of chastity was and still is the most popular deity amongst the peasantry of Sri Lanka. Though a goddess of South Indian origin, she became more popular in this country. Her virtues are extolled in a Tamil epic called Cilappadikaram written in the 2nd century and in a number of Sinhalese poetical works written during the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the Tamil epic, one of the earliest known deistic shrines in Sri Lanka was built by King Gajabahu in the 2nd century A.D. enshrining the golden anklet of this goddess. There are a large number of shrines dedicated to her scattered all over the country, but the most popular is the one at Kandy next to Navagamuva Devale. She is beneficial to the people in many ways. She is associated with the cure of infectious diseases and children's diseases and is also propitiated in times of drought and consequent famine.
 
Poya-ge Malwathu Maha Viharaya

The devale devoted to her in Kandy is a simple, small rectangular building on the usual stone platform. The shrine is at the south end like that of Natha, and unlike the one at Maha Devale which is on the north end, and the Kataragama Devale in the west end. It consists of four compartments. Kandyan roof adorns this simple but beautiful devale.
Kataragama Devale

The Kataragama devale is situated in the Kotugodelle Vidiya, in that part of the street known in the past as Kavikara Vidiya. Kataragama devale was in existence during the 16th Kavikara Vidiya. Kataragama Devale was in existence during the 16th century and is dedicated to the God of Kataragama who is identified with God Skanda, the warrior God. There are unambiguous references to the God in the great Chronicle but he seems to have run into popularity in the 14th century and since the 16th century his popularity seems to have increased. He is considered as one of the four guardian gods of Sri Lanka. By the 16th century this god was known by the name of his central shrine at Kataragama, but was known earlier as Skanda, Kumara or Mahasen. He is supposed to be a god who protected the Sinhalese against their enemies.

The entrance to the Kataragama Devale in Kandy faces the Main street. The devale building is more or less the same as the others and has the upper storeys square like lantern or tower over the sanctum, with a balcony. It consists of four compartments, the innermost or western one forming the sanctum with an image. In the next compartment also is an image where the officiating priests perform their rites. The third has the palanquin used in the Perahara, and the fourth is the drummers' quarters. To the north is an extra building attached to the main shrine and dedicated to the planetary gods. What is special to this devale is that unlike at the other devales, it has Hindu Brahmins as the officiating priests.

Malawtu Maha Viharaya

Across the lake from the temple of the Tooth Relic, is situated one of the great centres of the Sangha, belonging to the Siam Nikaya, known as Malwatu Maha Viharaya. This great monastery consists of two sections. The first is the Uposatha Viharaya on the right, popularly known as Poyamalu Viharaya and the other Pushparama Viharaya popularly known as Malwatu Viharaya which is seen today with a newly built octagon. Of these two complexes, the older is the Poyamalu Viharaya, supposed to have been built by Senasammata Vikramabahu with a two storeyed Uposathagaraya or Ordination Hall and a Caitya or a Dagaba close by. The Chronicle goes on to say that he further built 86 monasteries for the use of the monks in the two fraternities namely, Malwatu and Asgiri Viharas. This account is further supported by Sulu Rajawaliya, Asgiri Talpata, and Pohoya Malu Upatha.

Since the time of the Sangharaja, residing monks have grown in numbers and a great number of high priests specially those who are in the Karaka Maha Sangha Sabha or the executive council of monks now reside there. The Maha Nayake is the Viharadhipati or the chief incumbent of the monastery and one of the three joint custodians of the Tooth Relic, the other two being the Maha Nayaka of Asgiriyia Maha Viharaya and the Diyavadana Nilame, the lay custodian.

The Poya-ge of the Malwatu Viharaya is part of the Malwatta complex and here in takes place all the important meetings of the Sangha Sabha as well as the annual higher ordination ceremony. The poye-ge is supposed to have been built during the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasinha with a beautiful image of the Buddha installed therein.
Asgiri Maha Viharaya and the Adahana Maluva

North from the lake is situated the Asgiri Maha Viharaya, the other monastic centre of the Siyam Nikaya. This temple is believed to be considerably older 'than the Malwatu Viharaya and the Asgiriya Talpata voices this claim.

Asgiri Maha Viharyaa was founded by Commander Siriwardhana at the inquest of Parakramabahu IV of Kurunegala (1305-1335 A.D.). The original buildings were set up in the Trinity College premises. The bhikkhus to take up residence here was sent from Valasgala hermitage in Yapahuva. The name Valasgala is translated into Pali as Acchagiri and the present Sinhales name Asgiri is derived from it. According to another legend Asgiri was named after the mother queen of Vikramabahu who was cremated in the present cremation ground or Adahana Maluva at Asgiriya.

The King also made land grants to the temple and an inscription by him to this effect is still seen nearby. But the popular name Asgiriya continued to be used. During the reign of Rajadhi Rajasinha (1779-1797 A.D.) the streets of Kandy were straightened and as a result the old buildings of the Viharaya had to be demolished and a new temple was built at Udamadapota. This is now known as Pahala Pansala or lower temple. The demolition for the second time took place during the reign of Vimaladharmasuriya II when he was building a wall round the city.

It is seen from the history of the Asgiri Viharaya that almost all the rulers of the Kandyan Kingdom have contributed much towards its development. On the other hand, it was mainly the monks of this Chapter who have safeguarded the Tooth Relic on behalf of the ruling monarch during troublesome times.

Again, it was Wariyapola Sumangala Anunayake Thera of the Vihara who re-hoisted the Sinhalese flag in protest when the British hoisted their flag at the time of the signing of the Kandyan Convention in 1815.Historically, Adahana Maluva Gedige is the second oldest monument in the city and architecturally it belongs to the same school that influenced the monuments at Natha Devale and Gadaladeniya Vihara in Uda Nuwara. It is believed that the plan of the Nathe Devala Gedige has been made use of here. Adahanamaluve Gedige Viharaya plays a significant role in the Kandy Esala Perahara in that in final night the Relic Casket of the Dalada Maligava is deposited there until the commencement of the last day Perahara which begins from this site. This is done in order to fulfil a wish of Kirti Sri, who, having re-started the Dalada Perahara, ordered that the Casket be deposited at Adahana Maluva as a mark of respect to his queen mother cremated there.

Adahana Maluva was the place where the dead bodies of the kings of Kandy were burned and their remains were buried. Valentyn says that the body of Vimaladharmasuriya I, who died in 1604 was "cremated according to the custom of his country in a princely arbour". Maha Astana, the son of Vimaladharmasuriya I, and Dona Catherina who died in 1612 was also cremated there with "very great state and royalty, while great mourning lamentation were taking place at the sepulchre". He also speaks of Dona Catherina who died in July 20, 1613. "She was cremated on the 21st with great splendour on the same spot where the funeral of her son had been celebrated".

In 1878-80 the railway line to Matale was constructed under the Adahana Maluva in a tunnel and the last of the tombs which was almost the only remains of the Royal burial ground was destroyed.

Among the historical monuments in the city of Kandy are three other important temples belonging to the late Kandyan period. They are Gangaramaya, Huduhumpola and Nittawela. These stood outside the boundaries of the old city but today they are within the municipal limits because of their close proximity to the ancient city. A description of these temples is therefore appropriately included here.