Pinnacle of reverence wrapped in traditional artistry

I was planning to share these photos some time back but somehow or other it was procrastinated until now. Anyhow here's some of the photos I captured at Sri Dalada Maligawa, very well known throughout the world as The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It is the temple that enshrines the sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. It is also the very temple that hosts the biggest and the most spectacular pageant of Lanka - The Esala Perehara which draws millions of crowds to Kandy, every year.

For more info please refer the above link. So here are some of the places that caught my cam's eyes.

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I do apologize in advance for the poor quality in some of them, as even though it was cloudy that day, the sun was still glaring and so I ended up with lots of silhouettes than expected. I tried my best to tweak the brightness and contrast though.

PS: The pics were taken on different days.

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*And as usual ctrl+click to zoom in the pics.



Statue of lil Madduma Bandara, Lanka's child hero who sacrificed his life in the name of our motherland.



Statues of Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha, who brought the sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha as a gift from India.



Maligawa as seen from a distant. The golden cap dazzling above the roofs is the gilded canopy sheltering the repository of the sacred Tooth Relic. The flags flanking the paved walkway are called Buddhist flags.

There is a nice green turf on either sides of this paved walkway. While the elders take a break lying down on the well trimmed grass, the kids would run about and play cheerfully. During the perhera (pageant) season the turf is full of elephants and tuskers nibbling the juicy Kitul (fishtail palm) leaves.. closely watched by their mahouts.



This was taken few meters from Maligawa (tweaked the white balance of my cam and this is what I got)



The Octagon or 'Pattirippuwa', is a prominent landmark of Maligawa. Currently it is used as a library housing a good collection of Buddhist scriptures in ola leaves.



There are two types of walls you will see in the premises, while a similar parapet wall is built around the Kandy Lake, sited in the vicinity. One of these walls are called the 'Walakulu Bemma' or Cloud-like-drift Wall, and the other is called the 'Diyareli Bemma' or the Wave-like-swells Wall.

From its shape I think the one at the bottom is the cloud-like-drift parapet while the one at the top is the wave-like-swells parapet.



The main entrance to the premises is a lofty gateway flanked with fine relief carvings of tuskers, led by a stone stairway and a moonstone. This is a newly built gateway or rather a renovated one, as the old one was severely damaged during the terrorist attacks, some years back.



The new shrine hall inside Maligawa temple complex has scores of statues gifted from various countries. The hall itself is a work of craftsmanship, overflowing with traditional Lankan artistry in every nook and corner.



The magnificent ceiling of the new shrine hall. You can see 2 rows of golden tuskers projecting from the corbel brackets (at the top of the pillars). And right below these brackets are the beautiful paintings depicting the Buddha's life and Jataka Tales and significant moments of Maligawa.



Each painting at this hall has a description affixed below inscribed in both Sinhalese and English.



This is the lower floor, right below the 'Wedahitina Mahala' or 'Uda Mahala' (the chamber where the sacred Tooth Relic is enshrined). Right around this hall are wooden pillars finely crafted and painted in vibrant motifs. And to contrast its earthly tones there is a stunning golden railing encircling the hall.

The building in the rear is the new shrine hall.



Maligawa has several entrances, and this is what you see when you pass through the middle entrance and come through the 'Ambarawa', a tunnel packed with murals. This is also the frontal view of the above hall (with wooden pillars).

A striking embroidery drapes from its doorway, portraying the Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha. Right above this drapery is a 'Makara Thorana', another important architectural element of our religious architecture.



These guys (= a flock of ducks and geese) were fringing few meters of the bund of the Kandy Lake. Passersby (big and small) would pause for a moment and stare at them with a grin or a smile cause the sight itself was very interesting. Even though these guys hardly did anything amusing than doing a bit of grooming or walking their wobbly walk and gaping (not really) into the empty waters until they spot a fish or two.

Some of them were totally white like swans while some were black and white like cows. There was a bunch of cormorants too nearby, wading in the water and busily feasting on fish while the geese and ducks stared enviously. Wish I had time to capture everyone but unfortunately we had to hurry, and this was captured on our return trip, and so I missed the lot.



This scenery was captured on another day, opposite from Maligawa across the lake. This is how the temple complex appears from a distance to this side of Kandy. The whitewashed building perched on the lake is 'Bisokotuwa', an enclosure for the queens to bathe, furnished with a sluice gate.

And the milky white frill extending next to it is the 'Walakulu Bemma' or the Cloud-like-drift Wall that covers a portion of the Lake round.