Vishmi Travels leads our travelers to the best destinations in Sri Lanka. Sri #DaladaMaligawa, also known as The Temple of Tooth in #Kandy is one of the paramount places of Buddhists in Sri Lanka. And also, visitors from both local and foreign grounds come to the #temple irrespective of their religion. If you are a traveler who is keen on witnessing the grandeur of the tooth relic of Lord #Buddha, The Temple of Tooth would be the best place to visit.
Why should travelers visit the temple?
Because of the history of Tooth Relic
The Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka from #India by princess #Hemmala and prince #Dantha. History says that the princess hid it in her hair until she safely arrived in Sri Lanka. It was first placed in #Isurumuniya in Anuradhapura. It was believed that having the custodianship to the Tooth Relic is the right to rule the country. Therefore, whoever came to the throne, tried to keep the relic closer to them. Consequently, the relic had to travel across the island when the kingdoms changed from time to time. At some points, the relic had been hidden under rocks to protect it from enemies. The present-day Temple of Tooth was built by Vira Narendra Singhe. The premises where the Temple is located today was the Royal Palace complex in the #Kandy area. Travelers can see #paththirippuwa and moat today if you go to the temple. They were added by Sri #Vikrama #Rajasinghe.
Because of the glorified architecture
There is a brick wall which is known as the water waves wall. This wall runs along the moat and the #Bogambara #lake. Travelers will be able to see holes in this wall. They are used to light coconut oil lamps. The entrance of the temple is awe-inspiring and this is known as the Mahawahalkada by the locals. Placing a #sandakada #pahana at the entrance of a religious place is a unique architectural element in Sri Lanka. Hence, you will be able to see a sandakada pahana at the entrance of the Temple of Tooth also. Apart from that, another area that travelers love to visit is the Makara thorana and the two guardian stones that are placed on top of the staircase. Hewisi drummers are a vital part of the temple because their service is needed at all the religious rituals in the temple. Their chambers are placed in front of the main shrine room. The main shrine is a two-story building of which the ground story is known as “palle malaya” whereas the upper story is known as “udu malaya”. “Handun Kunama” is the chamber where the relic is placed. The doors of the udu malaya are worth capturing your eyes because there are ivory carvings. There is a golden canopy over the main shrine and a golden fence around the temple complex. Most importantly, the relic is placed in seven golden caskets. These caskets are engraved with precious gems.
Because of the religious rituals performed at the temple
The temple gets more glorified with the fragrance of flowers and incense sticks. #Malwathu chapters and #Asgiri chapters are in charge of daily worship rituals in the inner chambers of the #temple. There are three rituals performed at dawn, noon, and in the evening. Wednesday rituals are very important because the symbolic bathing of the Tooth Relic happens on Wednesday. The water for this ritual is made of herbal ingredients with scented water and fragrant flowers. This water is called holy water and it is believed that this water has healing powers.
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