Sri Lanka: Kandy … Tooth Relic Temple

Leaving the Millennium Elephant Foundation around 5:30p, we continued on to Kandy.

The traffic was stop and go most of the way. The single lane roads were now carrying at least two rows of cars … sometimes three … drivers vying for any opening they could find to make headway.

We rolled into Kandy after dark. It was already 7:45p. The Temple of the Tooth Relic — aka Sri Dalada Maligawa — was due to close at 8:00p.

Instead of taking us to the hotel, our guide found a parking spot — a miracle, really — near the temple and rushed us over there to see what we could see. The streets were packed with people of all ages … locals, visitors like us, Buddhist monastics, pilgrims. Restaurants and food stalls were doing brisk business; musicians, vocalists, and choirs were providing entertainment. Cacophony in ever direction.

This temple — a UNESCO WHS — is on the grounds of the Royal Palace Complex of what used to be the Kingdom of Kandy. Tradition has it that after Gautama Buddha reached mahaparinirvana — freedom after death — in India in 543 BC, the left canine tooth was smuggled from the funeral pyre to Sri Lanka. As the relic symbolizes the right to rule, reigning monarchs who held the tooth built temples to house it. Eventually, in the late 16th century, the relic came to Kandy.

The original temple (circa 1600) was destroyed by the Portuguese when they invaded Sri Lanka. The second temple (mid-17th century) was burned down by the Dutch. The third one fell into ruin and was destroyed. The temple we visited today dates back to the 18th century. The structure is in the architectural style unique to Kandy. It came under attack twice — most recently by the Tamil Tigers in 1998. However, it was fully restored each time.

We entered the complex through a white arch … beyond which was a bell-shaped stupa and a statue of the Buddha in a glass box. Every building was decorated with lights, flags, lanterns, and garlands … a festive atmosphere prevailed. The Paththirippuwa (Octagonal Pavilion; built in 1803) was especially festive with twinkling white lights adorning the façade. The water in the moat doubled our pleasure with reflections. Everywhere we looked, there were long lines of people … an even longer one at the main entrance to the temple.

Considering it was past the closing time of 8:00p, we had no expectation of being able to go inside the temple. We were wrong. Our guide managed to talk the guards at a side entrance to let us in, thus avoiding the queue at the main entrance. Turns out that the closing time had been extended a tiny bit. We would be allowed to enter the queue to see the tooth relic. But we had to hurry. So, hurry we did. What a shame that we had to hotfoot it … there was so much detail to study.

Our timing, unfortunately, was not good enough to see the relic. We were allowed to enter the line. In fact, the line was closed down behind us. But we missed — by mere seconds — being able to look through the window to see the stupa-shaped casket in which the tooth lies. The panel covering the opening was slid shut just before we got to it.

Later, I read that the tooth lies on a gold lotus flower within a series of gold and jeweled caskets. The relic itself is rarely on public display, so we would have seen only the outer-most casket … of which I found a poster photo at the temple. At least we know what we missed.

We took our time leaving the temple, stopping to take photos as we made our way. Our guide insisted on having us pose in front of the entrance to the inner sanctum … our hands folded in the namaste greeting. He gave specific instructions on how and where to stand, so I’m pretty sure this is a photo op he has perfected for all of his clients.

Leaving the temple, we made our way over to Kandy Lake … visible through a fence. In the pitch dark, all we could see were the colorful lights on what looked like a platform in the middle of the lake. Then, back to the street where our van was parked.

It was after 9:00p when we arrived at the Radisson. We were checked in and our way to the room by 9:05p. Starved, but too tired to think of eating anything but our protein bars, we relaxed in the room, stepping out on the balcony to enjoy the night time views of the hill across the way from us.

A rushed visit, but at least we made it to Kandy.Läs mer