THE SACRED CITY OF KANDY:
Sri Lanka’s Traditional Cultural Capital

By Toni Dabbs

Sri Lanka’s Sacred City of Kandy sits 475 meters above sea level in low hills embraced by the Mahaweli River, just 130 kilometers from the modern capital of Colombo.

But Kandy also once was a capital. Established by Sinhalese King Wickramabahu III during his period of reign from 1357 to 1374, the city became the capital of the Kandyan kingdom in the 16th century. It fell to the British in 1815, when the last Sinhalese King, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe, ceded power to colonial forces.

At that time, the city’s name was Kande-uda-rata. To make pronunciation more convenient, the British dropped the “uda-rata” and anglicized Kande to Kandy.

During its days as a royal city, Kandy became the cultural center of Sri Lanka, and its craftspeople still produce the nation’s most sought after souvenirs: woven mats, wood carvings and silver wares. At the same time, it became a sacred city for Buddhists, when the Sinhalese kings enshrined the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha within their palace complex.

Its cultural and religious significance prompted UNESCO to designate the Sacred City of Kandy as a World Heritage Site in 1988.

Dalada Maligawa, or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is undoubtedly the greatest attraction in Kandy. As the repository of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, brought to Sri Lanka from the Kalinga province of ancient India in the fourth century, it is the most venerated place of worship for Buddhists throughout the world.

Built in the Sinhalese architectural style in the 16th century, the temple originally was within the king’s palace complex, because it was a symbol of royal authority. Today, the temple is controlled by layman, the Diyawadne, elected by the high priests of the Malwatte and Asgiriya monasteries in Kandy.

The most prominent feature of the temple is the Pathiruppuwa, or Octagon, built in the early 19th century as the place where the king addressed the public on important occasions. Several additions have been made to the temple over the years, the latest being the Golden Canopy over the inner shrine that holds the relic.

The relic itself seldom is revealed and then only when royalty, senior Buddhists or other important people are visiting.

Also within the temple complex is the Maguk Maduwa, or Audience Hall, where the Sinhalese king met with his ministers and foreign dignitaries. The open building with carved timber pillars is where the Kandyan Convention was signed on March 2, 1815, handing over the government of the country to the British.

After the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the most famous landmark in Kandy is the lake in the center of the city, Kiri Muhuda, or Milky Ocean. The king had a pleasure house on a little island there.

At the lake’s edge, near the temple complex, is an old building that was Ul-Pan-Ge, or the Queen’s Bath. Situated on a hillock on the other side of the temple complex is the King’s Harem, which now serves as the Kandy Museum, housing exhibits about the Kandyan kingdom and Sri Lanka history.

North of the temple complex is a long building that was the palace of the last Sinhalese king. Only part of it survives; the rest was destroyed by fire.

Although the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is the focal point of religious interest in Kandy, other temples and shrines with their own special attractions are scattered in and around the city.

Natha Devale, dating back to the 14th century, is the oldest shrine in Kandy and one that is reminiscent of South Indian architecture.

Degaldoruwa is a 17th century rock temple, while Lankatilaka and Gadaladeniya are unusual brick and stone temples constructed during the same period. Lankatilaka exemplifies traditional Sinhalese temple architecture, with carved wooden doors and well preserved frescoes, and Gadaladeniya exhibits the influence of Indian temple architecture, with lacquered doors, carvings and frescoes.

Embekke, a shrine to Skanda, the Hindu god of war, features wooden pillars carved with figures of soldiers, wrestlers, dancers, musicians, mythical animals and birds. These are considered to be the best existing examples of Kandyan Period wood carvings.

Gangarama is a temple built around a 10-meter-high standing Buddha statue, which was sculpted in situ from a natural rock.

Kandy is the setting for Sri Lanka’s most colorful annual celebration, mixing religious and cultural traditions. Esala Perahera, or Festival of the August Moon, recognizes the month in which Lord Buddha was conceived and in which he left his father’s home.

For 10 successive nights, ending on that of the August full moon, a procession with 100 gaily caparisoned elephants parades through the city’s decorated streets. The grandest elephant carries the golden casket containing the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. The relic’s custodian, the Diyawadne, dressed in ceremonial attire, walks behind it.

About 1,000 other people participate in the procession: costumed dancers accompanied by drummers and other musicians, flag bearers supporting traditional banners, torch bearers carrying long poles with iron baskets of burning coconut fiber, and Kandyan chieftain wearing the rare trappings of the old kingdom.

Pilgrims and tourists flock to the city to observe the pageant, which incorporates the traditional values and historic significance that continue to make Kandy the cultural capital of Sri Lanka.

If You Go

The British took 11 years to complete the trunk road from Colombo to Kandy, opening it in 1832. It was the first modern road to be built in Sri Lanka, because the country’s first mail service ran between the two cities. 

Today, several attractions along the road are worth a stop.

Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage was established by the Department of Wildlife in 1975. It is situated on 10 hectares along the Maha Oya River at Rambukkana, 77 kilometers from Colombo. Visitors may view approximately 60 abandoned or orphaned pachyderms browsing, bathing, or being hand-fed or trained to work.

Peradeniya Botanical Garden, about six kilometers from Kandy, was conceived as a royal garden in 1371, when Vikrama Bahu III was king. After the British came to power, it was converted to a botanical garden in 1821. The property served as headquarters for Lord Mountbatten, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia during World War II.

Considered the best garden in the country, it occupies 60 hectares beside the Mahaweli River. Its great lawns are lined with large tropical trees, some of which have been planted by distinguished visitors to Sri Lanka. More than 100 varieties of palm trees are represented.

A Herbarium grows many of the plants used for traditional Ayurvedic medicine, and a Spice Garden contains ornamental plants and creepers used for production of special spices. Most outstanding is the internationally respected Orchid House, bearing more than 300 varieties, from the rare indigenous Foxtail and Vesak orchids to many other natural and hybrid species.