Temple of the Tooth

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව தலதா மாளிகை
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, a World Heritage Site in Kandy
Religion
Affiliation	Buddhism
Location
Location	Kandy
Country	Sri Lanka
Shown within Sri Lanka
Geographic coordinates	7°17′38″N 80°38′19″E / 7.29389°N 80.63861°E / 7.29389; 80.63861
Architecture
Founder	Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy
Completed	1595
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	(iv)(vi)
Designated	1988
Reference no.	450
Website
http://www.sridaladamaligawa.lk

Sri Dalada Maligawa^[a] (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The temple of the tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.

Bhikkhus of the two particular chapters, the Malwathu chapters and Asgiri chapters, conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with a herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya; this holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed to those present.

The temple sustained damage from bombings by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in 1989, and by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1998. However, it was fully restored each time.
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