News
Sacred tooth relic exposition begins ceremonially; two million devotees expected
View(s):As the air filled with the sound of the chanting of pirith and traditional drums beats declaring open the special exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha at the Dalada Maligawa on Friday, thousands of Buddhist devotees lined the streets of Kandy patiently waiting their turn to pay homage to the Relic.
The “Siri Dalada Vandana” was officially opened to the public after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake became the first citizen to pay homage to the sacred Tooth Relic.
A group of 44 diplomats, including those from Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, the Netherlands, India, Myanmar, Palestine, France, New Zealand, Cuba, Egypt, Japan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Canada and South Korea were among those who arrived early in Kandy on Friday for the public veneration of the Tooth Relic. They took a special train from Colombo to travel to Kandy.
For the many thousands lining the streets, it is an opportunity to see the Tooth Relic closer than they have ever seen before. Those who had the fortune of paying homage on Friday were filled with emotion as they exited the Maligawa and expressed how they felt blessed to have had the opportunity of a lifetime.
The exposition of the sacred Tooth Relic is taking place for the most time in 16 years, the last being in 2009.
It was on request by the President that the Maha Nayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thero and Maha Nayaka of the Malwatta Chapter Most Venerable Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thero along with Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bandara consented to the special exposition. The three chief custodians of the Tooth Relic are the Venerable Mahanayake Theros of Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters and the lay custodian, the Diyawadana Nilame.
The city of Kandy was decorated with Buddhist flags while a large number of dansal are taking place to provide the devotees with food and drink. The Kandy Municipal council (KMC) has taken measures to provide sanitary facilities, garbage collection etc. while the Police have put in place special security arrangements which will be in place till April 27, when the exposition ends. The exposition will be open to the public daily till April 27 from 12:00 noon to 5:30 pm.
Police expect around two million devotees to pay homage to the sacred Tooth Relic within the ten days of the exposition. Close to a million came to Kandy in 2009 when the special exposition took place that year
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