The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa,[a] (Sinhala: ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) 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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