The Buddha's Tooth is the main relic of Buddhism, which is revered in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China … The history of this artifact is not just mysterious, it is rich in incredible adventures that are asked for in a novel.
UNDER THE ESCORT OF THE HAMMER
Legend has it that at the moment of Buddha's cremation, one of the disciples rushed into the flames of the funeral pyre and carried out the red-hot tooth of the Enlightened One, which had cooled for exactly seven weeks. And it happened in 543 BC.
At first, the closest disciples of the deceased kept the Tooth secret from everyone, but the last of them survived. Already decrepit, he handed it over to the rulers of the Kalinga dynasty.
For many centuries the tooth was kept in India. He was deeply revered, they did not take their eyes off him, they took care of him like the apple of an eye. People came from afar, bowed to him, confessed and received peace of mind. But once the sacred relic was stolen. The Hindu brahmanas ventured into a despicable act, and only because they were impatient to make sure if this artifact was as omnipotent as they say. It looks like a tooth - nothing special.
They took a hammer, swung as much as possible and hit the Tooth. The hammer jumped, almost bruised the daredevil's forehead. And the Tooth - nothing, lies to itself intact. They wanted to repeat the test, but the hammer escaped from the hands of the second daredevil, but did not fall on the head of the blasphemer, but, as if imbued with Buddhist humility, hung in the air right above the crown, and at the same time shook his head reproachfully. The brahmans were ashamed and, under the escort of a hammer, carried the shrine to its place.
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TAKE AWAY AND HIDE
Already in the IV century AD, the ruler Guhaziva, fearing that opponents of Buddhism would seize his throne, bequeathed to his daughter Hemalatha that in case of his death she would take the Tooth away and hide it in a safe place.
As the wise Guhaziva foresaw, the enemies treacherously killed him and seized power. Then Hemalathi together with her husband, disguised as poor pilgrims, boarded a ship departing for Sri Lanka. All Buddhist pilgrims were thoroughly searched. But, fortunately, the guards were not alerted that the poor commoner pilgrim had such a magnificent hairdo. Namely, the Tooth was hidden in it.
The princess and her husband safely reached the "blessed island", reached Anuradhapura, the capital of the state, and handed the sacred relic straight into the hands of the monarch.
From now on, the Tooth was in the royal palace, but not only the palace walls - the whole island was like a fortress that guarded it. Despite this, over the centuries, the shrine was repeatedly tried to kidnap, destroy or replace. But it seemed that the Buddha himself was guarding her. By his mercy, he did not execute the intruders, did not punish, did not kill, but did so that a lucky chance again and again either prevented the crime, or returned the relic back.
For the possession of the Tooth of Buddha, various Sinhalese rulers waged fratricidal, bloody wars among themselves, one part of the island rose to another. It was believed that the one in whose hands this shrine is located will own all of Sri Lanka.
HALL OF BEAUTIFUL VIEW
At the end of the 16th century, the Tooth of the Buddha came to the city of Kandy, the new capital of Sri Lanka, located high in the mountains. At first, he was kept in a two-tier tomb, and then a temple with stone columns was built around the sanctuary - Dalata Maligawa.
He stands there to this day, pleasing the eye and healing the souls of believers. The ceilings of the temple are decorated with carvings, on the walls there are numerous images telling amazing and instructive stories from the life of Buddha, everywhere there is silver, gold and ivory. And hundreds of Buddha statues, sent from many countries - China, India, Japan, Thailand … There is a Buddha here, carved from a huge block of rock crystal, one of the caskets contains a Buddha made of a solid emerald. Every day believers come, in the morning they lay lotus flowers on the altar, in the afternoon - rice and curry, in the evening - fruits and sweets.
The tooth is kept in a special room called the Hall of the Beautiful View. Only a few, especially distinguished ministers are allowed to enter it. Only in rare cases are outsiders allowed - and then only especially important persons. In our times, for example, Queen Elizabeth and cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova have received such mercy. It is understandable, it is precisely such women who serve the good and mutual understanding of people living in different countries, on different continents, more than others, according to Buddhist priests, not only came closer to understanding the essence of the Buddha's teachings, but also embody his precepts with their whole lives.
The description of the hall was left by the Russian traveler Princess Shcherbatova, who was honored to visit it in 1890. Why she was allowed inside - and remained a mystery to everyone. Apparently, the priests saw in her special qualities that include her among the elect.
“Entering the altar,” writes the princess, “we saw a large table, brightly lit by a multitude of candles, in the middle of which, under a glass bell, stood an ark - karanduva. Inside it are placed one in the other six of the same arks, all of pure gold, and the last of them is decorated with precious stones and contains the famous Tooth."
PEOPLE ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL PROBLEMS
By the way, the artifact itself - the Tooth of the Buddha - was seen by few. There was a time when only the king, special close associates and a few monks had the right to do this. Now karanduwa is on public display. However, skeptics argue that the last, smallest ark is empty, the Tooth is still stored in the Hall of Pleasant-looking or in some other place. This is understandable: the danger is too great that the Tooth will again try to steal some fanatic, especially in such a troubled country as Sri Lanka.
Once a year, a festive procession is organized in honor of the Tooth - Perahera. This is not only the most favorite holiday among the Sri Lankans, but also one of the most important events for the entire Buddhist world.
A tragedy struck several years ago. A huge elephant, which during the procession was carrying a karanduva, stepped on a burning torch and began to rush about in pain all over the street. People rushed scatteringly, the police, fearing that the unfortunate animal would pass over many people, opened fire on him. Alas, the giant did not fall immediately, so there were many victims. Later it turned out that the clever elephant, by some incredible coincidence, did not run over a single person, only two. And the bulk of people died either in a stampede, or from the bullets of the confused police.
To say that this incident made a strong impression on society is to say nothing. It was interpreted as a warning: people themselves are the cause of all their troubles. For a while, even the civil strife that tore apart the island subsided. But, unfortunately, not for long.
And in 1998, an equally amazing story happened. The Islamists, trying to destroy the sacred relic, planted a bomb in the Dalada Maligawa temple. The bomb went off, the temple was badly damaged, but the relic remained intact.
Today, the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha is open from dawn to dusk, so everyone who is able to withstand a long line to the shrine can see the karanduva with the relic. In very rare cases, when the Tooth itself is shown, it is placed in a special golden loop extending from the center of the golden lotus.
Yulia AGAFONOVA