Sacred Temple of theTooth, Kandy

By the time we got to Kandy we were "templed out" and considered skipping the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic. While our tour agent was happy to add side trips or rearrange the schedule, he would not consider dropping a stop. As we walked to the temple we were glad that the stop remained. The temple was alive with devotees and other visitors.

Vendors selling flowers to devotees

HazanthaDemian@gmail.com

At the entrance to the complex we met our guide, Hazantha Deminen. Over the years we have had many excellent guides, but Hazantha is a man that we will remember the longest First, his hair cut! How could we forget it? Then as we walked he would introduce a topic or an item with "my dear madam and sir."  He was the youngest licensed guide we have ever had. No problem, he was knowledgeable, well versed on the temple and Sri Lankan Buddhism, and easily engaged with us.  He is a university student studying urban history.  If you are in Kandy, we recommend tracking him down.

The relic is a canine tooth of Buddha rescued from his funeral pyre in 483 B.C. In the 4th century CE an Indian princess brought it to Sri Lanka. Legend has it that she smuggled it in her hair. The tooth was kept in Anuradhapura  and later moved to Polanuras. In his article Godwin Witane describes why the tooth spent centuries being moved around, "During Lanka's reign of nearly 150 monarchs, the Sacred Tooth Relic had to undergo many a travail taking refuge in numerous secret places to ensure its safety from invaders for it is said that whoever possessed the Tooth Relic had the divine power to govern the country."

Princess & her husband bringing tooth to Sri Lanka

From Polanurus

Finally in the early 19th century it came to stay in Kandy, where it is encased in seven golden caskets. Each year at Kandy's Esala Perahera festival (held in July or August) on the 6th night procession the relic casket, but not the tooth, is carried by a "royal" elephant. The festival is similar to the older Desara festival in Mysore. Unlike Mysore the elephants that carry the casket are relatively anonymous.

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To better digs in Kandy 600 years later

The second entrance has two guard stones and a moonstone. The main entrance was damaged in 1989 by a  Tamil Tiger bombing. It has been rebuilt. The guide's mention of the bombing, the damage, and number killed (16) was the only explicit mention of Sri Lanka's civil war we heard during the trip.

As we entered the shrine we heard the sounds of drums. They are part of the rituals held daily at 5:30, 9:30, and 18:30. We were tempted to stand and watch, but Hazantha moved us up a crowded staircase. There we joined an crowd neither a queue nor  a mob, waiting to see the relic casket (Devotees in the queue see the casket for 15 seconds.) Seated in the front were white robed devotees who had contributed to the day's devotions. (Each day a large quantity of rice and vegetables are prepared for distribution.) We had a brief view of the casket and then moved on. (The casket is only exposed for viewing at the above noted times.)

Drummers - tusks are from deceased royal elephants

Viewing the casket

As we left we decided to skip the museum. Probably a mistake. There was too much to see in Kandy for 24 hours. If we returned we will spend several days - revisit the temple, go to the museum, and visit other temples in the area. (And of course stroll through the Botanical Gardens.)

Leaving the temple flanked by Buddhist flags