The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali danta dhÃÂtuya) 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, in Kandy.
According to the MahÃÂparinibbÃÂna 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 (TrÃÂyastriá¹Âà Âa and in the realm of the Nagaraja), while the other two are in earthly locations (GandhÃÂra and Kaliá¹ ga). Out of these, the Nagaraja and the Kaliá¹ ga tooth are purported to be extant.
One episode involving the relic during the Portuguese presence in Sri Lanka is described in both contemporary and later sources. According to the Portuguese chroniclers João de Barros and Diogo do Couto, the relic was seized during the 1560 expedition against the Jaffna Kingdom and taken to Goa, where it was destroyed on the orders of the Viceroy, Constantino de Bragança. Prior to this, the relic had been kept in the Jaffna Kingdom after the defeat of Veediye Bandara, the commander of the Kingdom of Kotte, at Nallur.
During the Portuguese period in Sri Lanka, the tooth relic was reported to have been seized in 1560 during a Portuguese expedition against the Jaffna Kingdom and later taken to Goa. According to John S. Strong, it was destroyed by the orders of the Viceroy, Constantino de Bragança. Paulus Edward Pieris similarly records that the relic was burnt and its remains were thrown into the sea, and that before its capture the relic had been kept in the Jaffna Kingdom after the defeat of Veediye Bandara, commander of the Kingdom of Kotte, at Nallur.
According to the MahÃÂvaá¹Âsa and the DÃÂá¹Âhavaá¹Âsa, during the Buddha's cremation, his left canine was retrieved by his disciple Khema, who in turn gave it to King Brahmadatte of Kaliá¹ ga for veneration, being kept at Dantapura (modern Dantapuram). At some point, the tooth relic gained the reputation for giving whoever held the relic the divine right to rule the land, with the DÃÂá¹Âhavaá¹Âsa reporting a war between Guhasiva of Kaliá¹ ga and the king Pandu over its possession.
Legend states that following a conflict in Kaliá¹ ga, the tooth was brought to the Abhayagiri VihÃÂra 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.
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.