The City Of Kandy & Temple of Tooth

The city of Kandy

The city of Kandy is located 116 kilometers from Colombo. It is 465 meters above sea-level and nestled in the mountainous central region of the island. First established in the mid-14th century, the city resisted many invasions by the Portuguese and Dutch, who occupied most of the island from the 16th century onwards.

Kandy remained the last independent capital of Sri Lanka until the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, when it came under British rule in 1815. The seats of power then shifted to the coastal areas of Kotte and Colombo. However, it is still considered the religious and cultural center of the country, with numerous temples and monasteries, Buddhist colleges and beautiful parks and gardens.

The Lankatilaka Temple is known for its traditional Sinhalese architecture and was built in 1344 atop a rocky and uneven hilltop. The Embekke Deval

Kandy remained the last independent capital of Sri Lanka until the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, when it came under British rule in 1815. The seats of power then shifted to the coastal areas of Kotte and Colombo. However, it is still considered the religious and cultural center of the country, with numerous temples and monasteries, Buddhist colleges and beautiful parks and gardens.

The Lankatilaka Temple is known for its traditional Sinhalese architecture and was built in 1344 atop a rocky and uneven hilltop. The Embekke Devale, constructed in the 14th century, is famous for its wooden structure and beauti­ fully intricate wood-carvings. Another popular temple in Kandy is the Gadaladeniya Temple which was built in south Indian style.

Dumbulla

Although there are numerous cave temples in Sri Lanka. The ancient Rock temple a few kilometers south of the town of Dummbulla is its most famous and spectacular. The town is about 72 kilometers north of Kandy, and the temple is in a cave under a range of granite hillocks which rise 160 meters above surrounding plains.

It is behind that when king Vattagamini was feeling from his enemies in the first century BCE, he was sheltered by ascetic monks who lived in these caves. After remaining to power, he came back to build a large rock temple in gratitude to the monks. The caves were further enlarged by king Nissankamalla in the 12th century, with five temples built into them.

There are more than hundred statues of the Buddha within the temples, along with a few of kings and various deities. There are also murals on the walls depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life, some painted as recently as the 18th and 19th centuries’ and these cover an area of 2,100 square meters.

Aluviharaya Temple

Just 32 kilometers north of Kandy is a small cave temple highly significant to the history of Buddhism. During the 1st century BCE, the island was ravaged by anarchy and starvation, and the very survival of Buddhism was threatened. This was because at that time, its teachings were orally transmitted by monks, and many had died or left the island.

Some of the surviving monks then decided to commit the whole of the Tipitaka to writing. The Fourth Buddhist Council was convened and as a result, it was written down the first time in island's history. In this way, the teachings were preserved in its original form and Buddhism survived this difficult period. The momentous event was held at the Aluvihara Cave Temple, originally known as the Aloka Lena, or "Cave of Light".