Have you witness the exhibition of Tooth Relic?

I hope all the readers of this article may have watched "The Senkadagala Esala Procession" or the procession of the Tooth Relic which was held for three consecutive weeks during the last August since it broadcasted live on television as well. Due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic at that time period, the procession had to be conducted without public participation.  

The procession of the Tooth Relic consists of several cultural events and a number of customs and traditions unique to our country. We consider this procession as a performing art festival that Sri Lankans should be proud of and as well as an epitome of religious enchantment as Buddhists. 

Of the four Canine Tooth Relics that used adore the mouth of the Blessed one, The ever sacred Left Canine Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha which is considered as the crowning palladium of Sri Lanka is the holy relic honored during this Esala procession.  

This Left Canine Tooth Relic is currently housed at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Kandy. 

I think the readers of this article may have heard that the Tooth Relic is periodically exhibited for public display, in events called “Dalada Pradarshana”, my belief is that these are very important occasions not only for Buddhists in our country and overseas but also for non-Buddhists all over the world.  

This is because generally the holy Tooth Relic is not allowed to be seen through naked eye and worshiped.  It is always kept in the inner or fragrance chamber of the Temple of the Tooth Relic enclosed witin a bullet proof glass case and seven solid golden caskets. All These precautions must have been taken for the protection of the holy Tooth Relic.  

The key to open this glass case and the keys to open the first golden casket are in the possession of the Diyawadana Nilame the chief lay custodian of the temple. The key of the next casket is in the possession of the Chief Incumbent of the Main monastery of Malwathu Chapter.  The key of the next casket which was donated by the historical Kandian chief Ahelepola Mahadikaram is in the possession of the Chief Incumbent of the Main monastery of Asgiriya chapter.  If the Tooth Relic is to be carried out of these caskets, the Chief Incumbents of both the Asgiriya and Malwathu chapters, and the Diyawadana Nilame, who are holding the keys to the respective caskets, will have to perform some special rituals together. 

I received this rare video depicting the exhibition of holy Tooth Relic for public display which is otherwise known locally as the “Dalada Dakuma” performed during the time of the former Diyawadana Nilame Dr. Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne. I thought I would share the details of it with you readers.  Dr. Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne, the former Diyawadana Nilame, is seen in this video as carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic placed within a casket specifically designed to exhibit the relic for public view.  

This special casket that contain the Tooth Relic will be then placed inside the golden pavilion or “Ransivi-ge” by the Chief Incumbent of the Malwathu Chapter, Rev. Srimalwatte Sri Ananda Thero.  In the video the sacred Tooth Relic covered with a golden wreath can be clearly seen placed on a golden flower in the middle part of the casket. Festivals like these had been held for several times within the past decades with the last recent Tooth Relic exhibition being held on March 2009. 

At that time the Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of the Tooth Relic was the present Diyawadana Nilame, Mr. Pradeep Nilanga Dela, who had planned to hold it for ten days, from March 06, Wednesday to Sunday, March 16.  However, due to an emergency situation and the huge influx of crowd that came to Kandy to witness the relic, the exhibition of the Tooth Relic was doomed to last eight days and was end on March 14. After this final public exhibition held in this manner, no another such Tooth Relic exhibition or 'Dalada Dakula' has not been held until now.

For any enthusiast that is Looking for information about the Tooth Relic

This is going to be a great video for you.

 Go on and Watch it.

Please note that this video is not showing the Tooth Relic exhibition of 2009.

We all sincerely hope that in the near future another opportunity to witness the Sacred Tooth Relic again will soon arrive.

May the Triple Gems Bless you!