Sacred Buddhist writings from the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, 16 December 1909.

MLMSS 8359/Box 1X

fonds

1909

971104

0.01 metres of textual material (one box) - Handwritten on palm-leaf - each frond has two holes punched in the middle.; 38cms x 5cms

Located in Kandy, long a center of the Buddhist faith, the 17th-century Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is believed to house the left upper canine tooth of the Lord Buddha himself. According to legend, the tooth was taken from the Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre. It was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 AD. It immediately became an object of great reverence and was enshrined in a series of nested jeweled reliquaries.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_the_Tooth 9accessed 27 March 2012)

The writings are on two separate palm leaves of the Talipot palm. The palm leaves have been enclosed within a mylar covered window mount.

This item was extracted from the Marks Family papers, MLMSS 2718 and sent to Pictures Branch; it was transferred back from Pic.Acc. 3139 16 June 1987.