Dharma Shalawa

Have you ever wondered what secrets lie hidden within the vibrant city of Kandy? Let’s unravel a tale together, right here in front of the Dharma Shalawa. While the name whispers “place of worship,” our journey takes us to the grand Temple of the Tooth, a short distance from the Dharma Shalawa. This temple, also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa, holds a relic of immense importance to Buddhists worldwide: a tooth of the Buddha himself. Legend claims that upon Buddha’s cremation, his left canine tooth was rescued from the ashes. Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha, tasked by King Guhasiva, smuggled the tooth to Sri Lanka, concealing it in the princess’s hair. They arrived during King Sirimeghavanna’s reign. The tooth became synonymous with the right to rule, passed down through generations of Sinhalese kings. Initially housed in Anuradhapura, the tooth eventually found its way to Kandy in the late 16th century. The first temple built by King Vimaladharmasuriya I met its demise with a Portuguese invasion. Rebuilt and destroyed again, the temple we see today rose during King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe’s reign. The tooth, rarely seen by the public, rests on a golden lotus within a series of jeweled caskets. Monks honor it with rituals three times daily, and the annual Esala Perahera festival is a grand celebration of the relic. Even bombings in 1989 and 1998 couldn’t diminish the temple’s splendor, restored each time to its former glory. The Dharma Shalawa, in its quiet simplicity, stands in the shadow of this magnificent history, a testament to the enduring power of faith.