Relic of the tooth of the Buddha
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The Sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha is venerated in Sri Lanka as a relic of the founder of Buddhism.
[edit] History
According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kusinara in India and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by Arahat Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. Ever since then, it became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and there grew up a belief that whoever possessed the Sacred Tooth Relic had a divine right to rule that land. Thus, there were wars to take possession of the Relic. Finally, in the 4th century CE, it was in the possession of King Guhasiva of Kalinga, who feared that it would fall into the hands of his enemies. He secretly sent the Sacred Tooth Relic to Sri Lanka with his daughter, Princess Hemamali, and her husband, Danthakumara.
According to this legend, Hemamali hid the Relic in her hair ornament and the royal couple disguised themselves as Brahmins in order to avoid discovery. They set sail in a ship and, after facing the hazards of sea travel, finally arrived in Sri Lanka in 371. At the time, King Kirti Sri Megavanna ruled Sri Lanka. The King was overjoyed when he heard the news and warmly welcomed the royal couple and received the Sacred Tooth Relic with great veneration. He built a beautiful palace within the Royal Palace Complex itself and enshrined the Relic in it. Thereafter, he ordered that an annual perahera be held in honour of the Sacred Relic. As time went on, as the land was threatened with foreign invasions, the seat of the kingdom shifted from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa and thereafter to Dambadeniya and other cities. With every change of capital, a new palace was built to enshrine the Relic. Finally, it was brought to Kandy where it is at present, in the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple.
The Sacred Tooth Relic came to be regarded as a symbolic representation of the living Buddha and it is on this basis that there grew up a series of offerings, rituals, and ceremonies. These are conducted under the supervision of the two Mahanayake Theros of Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters and the Diyawadana Nilame of the Maligawa. They have a hierarchy of officials and temple functionaries to perform these services and rituals.
[edit] Other tooth relics
Aside from this specific tooth relic, another relic of the tooth of the Buddha is currently in Ling Guang Temple in Mainland China, and Fo Guang Shan monastery in Taiwan. The Shari-Den shrine of Engakuji temple in Kamakura, Japan, is also reputed to contain a tooth of the Buddha.
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