We started a little later today, and decided to rest up and not go to breakfast, Mendis came to pick us up at 10 a.m. We drove the long distance, perhaps an hour into Kandy where we were to go to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. It had started to rain early in the morning and was raining on and off as we approached the city. Sometimes the showers were quite heavy. The city was crowded with people celebrating the national day. We arrived close to the Temple and after a wait, found a parking spot, Mendis gave me a sarong and MAC a scarf to wear on our pilgrimage to the Temple, Mendis carefully arranged my sarong in the right way..
Then he found us a guide who would know how to thread his way through the throngs of people who were lining up to get into the Temple, The guide’s name was Basil Fernando. He took us to the place where we could leave our shoes. We took off our shoes and socks and went barefoot on the wet stone work. We had been supplied with an umbrella each but as soon as we started to enter the Temple it was very hard to maneuver them. The crowds were very thick and Basil just pushed his way past people and beckoned us to follow. Every now and then he would cut right across the flow of people and tell us to follow, He stopped frequently to talk about the Temple and what was going on.
After climbing many stairs shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others we finally found ourselves at a small window where a monk took our flower offering and we could catch a glimpse of the gold covered dome which protects the tooth relic. I will add some Wikipedia extract regarding the history of the tooth relic but it was rescued from the Buddha’s funeral pyre and then, through the ages, has changed hands many times. In 1853 the British who had obtained it returned it to the Sri Lankan’s.
See separate post for the photos.
From Wikipedia
“According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died in 543 BC, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kushinagar and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by his disciple, Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. It became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and was kept in the city of Dantapuri (modern Puri, Odisha).
A belief grew that whoever possessed the tooth relic had a divine right to rule that land. The Dāṭhāvaṃsa recounts the tale of a war fought over the relic 800 years later between Guhasiva of the republic of Kalinga and a king named Pandu.
Legend states the Abhayagiri vihāra was first appointed custodianship of the relic when it was brought to the island after the conflict in Kalinga. As time went on, the land was threatened with foreign invasions; at one time, the king of Bago, Burma offered the Portuguese £50,000 as a ransom of the tooth; and the seat of the kingdom was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, then to Dambadeniya and other cities. Upon each 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 Temple of the Tooth.
The 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 Mahanayakas of Malwatte, Asgiriya chapters, and Diyawadana Nilame of the Maligawa. These have a hierarchy of officials and temple functionaries to perform the services and rituals.”
After paying our respects to the ‘dental incarnation’ of the Buddha we descended again and passed through the temple and then through the ‘new temple’ where there were statues of Buddha from around the world as well as inscriptions on the wall telling of the source and adventures of the tooth relic since its finding after Buddha’s cremation.
After retrieving our shoes and finding Mendis, we bade farewell to Fernando our guide who had certainly made the whole experience much quicker and more interesting. The line to get in to the Temple had not shortened appreciably when we left and this would go on al day.
Here is the story of Madduma Bandara from Wikipedia:
Quote
We then proceeded to a buffet restaurant where both local and western food was available where we had lunch. Then, on the way to the Royal Botanical Gardens we stopped off at a jewelry factory and museum. Here we learnt about the rare and semi-precious stones which are mined in Sri Lanka. We could see the different sapphires, rubies, moonstones and many others being polished and cut. The museum had many antiques and interesting artifacts. After all this learning it was off to the store. Here inevitably, we were shown some lovely examples of the finished products. At the end, MAC scored a lovely blue moonstone bracelet. While were waiting for it to be adjusted, we could see an elderly Chinese lady at the next desk who was very, very happy with her purchase and put down multiple $100 bills, laughing and shouting like a child. On her way out she laughed and joked and shook our hands. Maybe this was a Chinese New Year present for her or maybe, perhaps more likely, she would sell her purchase for much more when she returned to China!! Whichever, she was happy!!!
From the jewelry store we drove to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Here we took the shuttle bus to tour the site which is spectacular. The collection of trees is especially remarkable with specimens of all types from all over the world including amazing stands for giant bamboo, ‘cannonball trees’ a couple of remarkable Cook pines. There also a very beautiful flower garden with rows of brightly colored flowers. We also saw monkeys and what were described as ‘flying foxes’ which were, in fact large fruit bats which swooped eerily above the trees as if from some Hitchcock movie. Being late afternoon when we were there, they were just rising from their daily sleep. There were also monkeys playing among the trees. This is a delightful garden which is beautifully maintained and which was much used this day being a public holiday.
We left the Royal Botanical Garden and drove the long way back to our mountain retreat hotel. It was probably a mistake to book this hotel for just two nights with days out in between day tours as access to the hotel is via a long and very winding road and the trip back to Kandy is time-consuming. The hotel is beautiful in a wonderful setting and has superb facilities. It is however, by name a ‘retreat’ and is intended for those who want to spend relaxing time in the resort, enjoying the treatments, yoga sessions and therapies. The rooms are open to the air, avoiding air conditioning but also rather noisy due to the proximity of the wild-life. Still we were very comfortable and slept soundly through the jungle noises. I expect because of the location, wi-fi reception is not very strong.
We had a light dinner at the hotel and then retired to bed in anticipation of our departure in the morning.
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| Dressed up and ready to go to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth |
After climbing many stairs shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others we finally found ourselves at a small window where a monk took our flower offering and we could catch a glimpse of the gold covered dome which protects the tooth relic. I will add some Wikipedia extract regarding the history of the tooth relic but it was rescued from the Buddha’s funeral pyre and then, through the ages, has changed hands many times. In 1853 the British who had obtained it returned it to the Sri Lankan’s.
See separate post for the photos.
From Wikipedia
“According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died in 543 BC, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kushinagar and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by his disciple, Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. It became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and was kept in the city of Dantapuri (modern Puri, Odisha).
A belief grew that whoever possessed the tooth relic had a divine right to rule that land. The Dāṭhāvaṃsa recounts the tale of a war fought over the relic 800 years later between Guhasiva of the republic of Kalinga and a king named Pandu.
Legend states the Abhayagiri vihāra was first appointed custodianship of the relic when it was brought to the island after the conflict in Kalinga. As time went on, the land was threatened with foreign invasions; at one time, the king of Bago, Burma offered the Portuguese £50,000 as a ransom of the tooth; and the seat of the kingdom was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, then to Dambadeniya and other cities. Upon each 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 Temple of the Tooth.
The 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 Mahanayakas of Malwatte, Asgiriya chapters, and Diyawadana Nilame of the Maligawa. These have a hierarchy of officials and temple functionaries to perform the services and rituals.”
After paying our respects to the ‘dental incarnation’ of the Buddha we descended again and passed through the temple and then through the ‘new temple’ where there were statues of Buddha from around the world as well as inscriptions on the wall telling of the source and adventures of the tooth relic since its finding after Buddha’s cremation.
After retrieving our shoes and finding Mendis, we bade farewell to Fernando our guide who had certainly made the whole experience much quicker and more interesting. The line to get in to the Temple had not shortened appreciably when we left and this would go on al day.
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| The statue and memorial to Madduma Bandara in the grounds of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth |
Quote
Madduma Bandara was born on 1806 in Kandy to the parents Ehelepola Maha Disawe and Ehelepola Kumarihamy. He had an elder brother(Loku Bandara) and two sisters(Tikiri Menike and Dingiri Menike). His uncle was Keppetipola Disawe one of the prominent Kandyan leaders who signed the 'Udarata Treaty’ at Kandy on 2 March 1815.
It was known at that time to king Sri Wickremarajasinha that Ehelapola, while being the Disawe of Sabaragamuwa, was aiding the flames of the rebellion against British rule. While Ehelapola was away from Kandy, the King ordered to arrest the Ehelapola Family.The king could not arrest Ehelapola, as he was in the custody of the British in Colombo. The king arrested Ehelapola’s wife and children.On 17 May 1814, his sons were beheaded. Ehelapola’s wife Kumarihamy and daughters were forcibly drowned in the Bogambara Lake by tying huge stones around their necks.[4] While Madduma Bandara's brother was frightened to face death, Madduma Bandara, himself, stepped forward asking the executioner to behead him at the first strike, saying "Fear not brother, I will show you how to face death"
Unquote
From the jewelry store we drove to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Here we took the shuttle bus to tour the site which is spectacular. The collection of trees is especially remarkable with specimens of all types from all over the world including amazing stands for giant bamboo, ‘cannonball trees’ a couple of remarkable Cook pines. There also a very beautiful flower garden with rows of brightly colored flowers. We also saw monkeys and what were described as ‘flying foxes’ which were, in fact large fruit bats which swooped eerily above the trees as if from some Hitchcock movie. Being late afternoon when we were there, they were just rising from their daily sleep. There were also monkeys playing among the trees. This is a delightful garden which is beautifully maintained and which was much used this day being a public holiday.
We left the Royal Botanical Garden and drove the long way back to our mountain retreat hotel. It was probably a mistake to book this hotel for just two nights with days out in between day tours as access to the hotel is via a long and very winding road and the trip back to Kandy is time-consuming. The hotel is beautiful in a wonderful setting and has superb facilities. It is however, by name a ‘retreat’ and is intended for those who want to spend relaxing time in the resort, enjoying the treatments, yoga sessions and therapies. The rooms are open to the air, avoiding air conditioning but also rather noisy due to the proximity of the wild-life. Still we were very comfortable and slept soundly through the jungle noises. I expect because of the location, wi-fi reception is not very strong.
We had a light dinner at the hotel and then retired to bed in anticipation of our departure in the morning.
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