With its golden roof, the sacred temple of the tooth is located in the town of Kandy. Kandy being the second largest city in Sri Lanka is home to the tooth relic of Lord Buddha, making it one of the most sacred cities on the island.
History
After the parinivana of Gautama Bhudda, it is said that the tooth relic was preserved by Kalinga and smuggled back into Sri Lanka by princess Hemamali and her husband, who handed over the relic to the reigning king at the time – Kirthi Sri Meghavarna. The current temple was built by Vira Narendra Sinha, and was initially used for recreational purposes by the King, which later transpired to house the sacred tooth relic.
Architecture
Apart from the main temple, the complex includes many smaller temples, museums and shrines. The brick wall surrounding the moat is known as the water waves wall, and the holes in it were made specially to light oil lamps. Beautiful stone carved elephants are on either side of the entrance and the hewisi drummers chamber is in front of the main shrine.
How can you see it?
Many hotel resorts and bungalows in Kandy are located within proximity to the temple and offer to help you with a tour. If you are looking for some good Kandy Bungalows to stay at with your family, you should check out the Mountbatten Bungalow, it is a beautiful boutique theme bungalow just 15 mins from the temple of the tooth.
Fritzjames Stephen is a travel writer, who writes content based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life. Google+