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Therelic of the tooth of Buddha (Palidanta dhātuya) is venerated inSri Lanka as a sacredcetiyarelic of theBuddha and primarily refers to the purported tooth at theTemple of the Tooth.
According to theMahāparinibbāna Sutta, after the Buddha's passing and cremation, four teeth are explicitly noted to be in existence. Two of the relics are noted to be in mythological locations (Trāyastriṃśa and in the realm of theNagaraja), while the other two are in earthly locations (Gandhāra andKaliṅga). Out of these, the Nagaraja and the Kaliṅga tooth are purported to be extant.
One episode involving the relic during the Portuguese presence in Sri Lanka is described in both contemporary and later sources. According to the Portuguese chroniclers João de Barros and Diogo do Couto, the relic was seized during the 1560 expedition against the Jaffna Kingdom and taken to Goa, where it was destroyed on the orders of the Viceroy, Constantino de Bragança.[1][2][3] Prior to this, the relic had been kept in the Jaffna Kingdom after the defeat of Veediye Bandara, the commander of the Kingdom of Kotte, at Nallur.[2]
During thePortuguese period in Sri Lanka, the tooth relic was reported to have been seized in 1560 during a Portuguese expedition against theJaffna Kingdom and later taken toGoa. According toJohn S. Strong, it was destroyed by the orders of theViceroy,Constantino de Bragança.[4] Paulus Edward Pieris similarly records that the relic was burnt and its remains were thrown into the sea, and that before its capture the relic had been kept in the Jaffna Kingdom after the defeat ofVeediye Bandara, commander of theKingdom of Kotte, atNallur.[5]
According to theMahāvaṃsa and theDāṭhavaṃsa, during the Buddha's cremation, his left canine was retrieved by his discipleKhema, who in turn gave it to King Brahmadatte of Kaliṅga for veneration, being kept at Dantapura (modernDantapuram).[6] At some point,[when?] the tooth relic gained the reputation for giving whoever held the relic the divine right to rule the land,[7] with the Dāṭhavaṃsa reporting a war betweenGuhasiva of Kaliṅga and the king Pandu over its possession.[8]
Legend states that following a conflict in Kaliṅga, the tooth was brought to theAbhayagiri Vihāra inAnuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The relic would change locations as the seat of government changed on the island, whereupon it was brought toKandy, where it currently rests at theTemple of the Tooth.[7]
Aside from the two tooth relics in Sri Lanka, other tooth relics have been reported globally. A 2024 survey found that 32 museums and temples claimed to hold one or more of the tooth-relics, including.[9]
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