page_title: Relic of the tooth of the Buddha
section_title: The relic in Sri Lanka
hierarchical_section_title: Relic of the tooth of the Buddha / History / The relic in Sri Lanka
caption_attribution_description: English: Ruins of Atadage, which was the house of the tooth relic of Buddha during Polonnaruwa era.
context_page_description: The relic of the tooth of Buddha is venerated in Sri Lanka as a cetiya relic of Gautama Buddha, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.
context_section_description: 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 scholar Charles Boxer, however, asserts that the tooth was "publicly pounded to smithereens with a mortar and pestle by the Archbishop of Goa" as one of the results of the Church's attempt to eradicate native religions [no date given but inferred 1550s or so].
  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.
caption: Atadage was the house of relic of tooth during Polonnaruwa era.
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