Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Sri Dalada Maligawa

Location

Maligawa

Country

Sri Lanka

Year of Research

303 - 331 A.D.

Culture

The Kandy Esala Perahera is held yearly in July August on days set by the Diyawadana Nilame (Chief Lay Head or Trustee) of the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic).
Its starting point, as one writer on Ceylon describes it, is \"lost in the mists of centuries\".
According to the Mahavamsa, from the time the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Ceylon in the control of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna who ruled at Anuradhapura from 303 - 331 A.D.,
it was placed in a casket finished of Phalika (Steatire or Soapstone) and lodged in an edifice called the Dharma-Chakra built by King Devanampiyatissa in the third century B.C.
The Mahavamsa goes on to say that 900,000 Kahapanas (a great sum of money) were spent in celebrating the event in honour of the Sacred Tooth Relic and the King Kirthisiri Meghawanna decreed that the Relic should be taken round the city of Anuradhapura once a year in spring.