Relic of the tooth of the Buddha

The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali danta dhātuya) is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of the Buddha and primarily refers to the purported tooth at the Temple of the Tooth, but can also refer to the one believed to be at Somawathiya Chaitya.

History

According to the Mahāparinibbāna 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 the Nagaraja), while the other two are in earthly locations (Gandhāra and Kaliṅga). Out of these, the Nagaraja and the Kaliṅga tooth are purported to be extant.

Kaliṅga tooth

According to the Mahāvaṃsa and the Dāṭhavaṃsa, during the Buddha's cremation, his left canine was retrieved by his disciple Khema, who in turn gave it to King Brahmadatte of Kaliṅga for veneration, being kept at Dantapura (modern Dantapuram).^[1] At some point^[when?], the tooth relic gained the reputation for giving whoever held the relic the divine right to rule the land,^[2] with the Dāṭhavaṃsa reporting a war between Guhasiva of Kaliṅga and the king Pandu over its possession.^[3]

Legend states that following a conflict in Kaliṅga, the tooth was brought to the Abhayagiri Vihāra in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The relic would change locations as the seat of government changed on the island, whereupon it was brought to Kandy, where it currently rests at the Temple of the Tooth.^[2]

Scholar Charles Boxer, however, claimed that the tooth was "publicly pounded to smithereens with a mortar and pestle by the Archbishop of Goa"^[4] as one of the results of the Church's attempt to eradicate native religions, believed to be around the 1550s, due to its religious importance to Buddhists.^[5]

Rumored Buddha tooth relics

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.^[6]

• Lingguang Temple (灵光寺) of the Badachu Park in Beijing, China.^[7]
• Buddha Memorial Center (佛陀紀念館) of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.^[8]
• Engaku Temple in Kamakura, Japan.^[9]
• Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (佛牙寺龍華院) in Chinatown, Singapore.^[10]
• Lu Mountain Temple in Rosemead, California^[11][12]
• Nagarjunakonda, museum on the island situated in the Nagarjunasagar Lake.^[13]
• Lawkananda Pagoda in Bagan, Burma

See also

• Cetiya
• Relics associated with Buddha#Relics in Sri Lanka
• Seruwila Wilgamwehera Royal Temple
• Relics of Sariputta and Moggallana
• Śarīra
• Refuge in Buddhism
• Dathavamsa
• Diyawadana Nilame
• Kandy Esala Perahera
• Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta
• Chinese expeditions to the Sinhala Kingdom
• Velakkara revolt
• Goa Inquisition

References

1. "The Buddha's Tooth". About.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
2. "Top 10 Religious Relics". Time. 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
3. Dhammakitti (1874). The Daṭhávansa; or, The history of the tooth-relic of Gotama Buddha [by Dhammakitti] translated, with notes, by Mutu Coomára Swámy. Trübner & Company. p. 42.
4. Charles R. Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Mission 1415-1825, London, 1969, p. 74
5. "Customary handover of Thewawa today". 24 July 2021.
6. Cheng, Feng-Chou; Chiang, Chun-Pin (January 2024). "The tooth relic of the Buddha: The viewpoint from paleodontology and modern dentistry". Journal of Dental Sciences. 19 (1): 729–731. doi:10.1016/j.jds.2023.10.017. PMC 10829713. PMID 38303805.
7. "The Eight Great Temples in the Western Hills (Badachu)". china.org.cn. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
8. "History: Fo Guang Year 32". Fo Guang Shan Monastery. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
9. "Temple Name: Engaku-ji". Rinzai-Obaku Zen. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
10. "The History of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum". Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
11. "No April Fools': Followers Claim Rare Buddha's Tooth With Healing Powers Continues to Grow". NBC. April 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
12. "The 10,000 Relics Collection". Bodhi Light International. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
13. City information of Hyderabad, Nagarjunasagar, Nagarjunakonda, Warangal, Medak