Date: late 1800’s
Photographer/Publisher: Unknown
Location: Kandy
The Sri Dalada Maligawa was King Sri Wickremarajasinghe’s (1798-1815 A.D.) Palance, now the Maligawa houses the sacred Tooth Relics of Lord Buddha.
The Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Lanka during the reign of King Megawanna (325-377 A.D.) by Prince Danta and Princess Hemamali from India in 371 A.D. In recorded history precursors of the present perahera carrying the Danta Dhatu was the procession which carried the Tooth Relic to Abayagiri Vihara built by King Valagambahu. The Chinese Monk Fa Hein in the 3rd Century A.D. describes how the Sacred Tooth Relic was publicly exposed on sacred days with gorgeous ceremonies and carried in procession through perfumed and decorated streets. History records that with the dravidian conquest the country was unstable and the fate of the Tooth Relic rested on the devoted Buddhist Monks who guarded it with warm affection. King Udaya IV (946-954 A.D.) had to flee the Capital with the Tooth Relic for safety on the face of the Cholian invasion but they were unsuccessful in capturing it. It was taken to the South of the country. King Elara ruled for 40 years. The Tooth Relic was brought back to Polonnaruwa by King Vijayabahu I. It was safe in the hands of King Parakramabahu the Great (1153-1186 A.D.) and King Nissanka Malla (1186-1196 A.D.). When the usurper Magha invaded Polonnaruwa the Tooth Relic was taken to Kotmale. From Kotmale it was taken to Dambadeniya, and in turn to Kurunegala, Gampola and Kotte. The Tooth Relic was possessed by successive kings. It was believed that whoever possessed the Tooth Relic had the divine power to govern the country. At Kotte it went into the hands of the Portuguese. They lost no time in sending it to Goa in India and get it destroyed. However it was a fake one replaced by the devoted monks.
More Information related to Dalada Maligawa please visit Saga of the Sacred Tooth
