Tour Overview

Temple of the Tooth, The Temple of the Tooth, also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa, is located within the royal palace complex in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This sacred site is the country's most significant Buddhist shrine, believed to house a revered relic—a tooth of the Buddha. The temple draws Buddhists from around the world for pilgrimage and worship.

According to legend, after the Buddha's death, his body was cremated in Kusinara, India. Among the ashes of the sandalwood funeral pyre, his left canine tooth was retrieved and handed to King Brahmadatta. The relic changed hands several times, and the last Indian ruler to possess it was King Guhasiva of Kalinga. In the 4th century, during the reign of Sri Lankan King Kirti Sri Megavanna, the tooth was secretly brought to Sri Lanka and enshrined in Anuradhapura. A tradition emerged linking the possession of the relic with the divine right to rule. Over time, the relic found its way to various locations on the island, always residing near the ruler's residence, until it reached Kandy in the late 16th century.

Interior of the Temple of the Tooth

Inside the Temple of the Tooth, a statue of the Buddha stands as a focal point for worship. The temple originally constructed to house the tooth was built around 1600 under King Vimaladharmasuriya I but was destroyed by a Portuguese invasion in 1603. Rebuilt in the mid-17th century, it faced destruction again. The current structure was constructed during the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe in the 18th century. The sacred tooth is kept within a two-story shrine inside the temple complex, surrounded by offerings of flowers, predominantly lotuses. The air inside is often heavy with the fragrance of incense. The relic itself rests on a solid gold lotus flower and is encased in a series of golden and jeweled caskets atop a throne. Public viewings of the tooth are rare, though Buddhist monks honor it with rituals three times a day. Each summer, a grand festival, known as the Esala Perahera, celebrates the sacred tooth.

The temple complex has suffered damage from bombings in 1989 and 1998, but it has been fully restored after each incident. Additionally, the Sri Dalada Museum within the complex exhibits documents and photographs that narrate the relic's history, along with images of the 1998 bombing. Adjacent to the temple is the Pattiripuwa, an octagonal tower constructed in 1803 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. This tower houses ancient Buddhist manuscripts written on palm leaves.