พระเขี้ยวแก้วศรีลังกา: ปาฏิหาริย์ 1,700 ปี รอดพ้นจากการทำลายล้างโดยชาติตะวันตก

Summary

The relic was carried from India to Lanka by Princess Hemamali, hidden in her hair.

Under colonial rule the Portuguese attempted to destroy it, and a tradition of miraculous restoration grew around the episode.

Thailand has a part in the story too: Upāli Thera was sent to restore Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and the Siyam Nikāya followed.

Key points

1. 01

   The relic is also a political object

   Whoever holds it holds legitimate rule, which explains why it was pursued.

2. 02

   Hidden in her hair is a detail that dates the story

   A covert journey shows the object was already valuable enough to be seized at the origin.

3. 03

   There are two versions of the destruction

   The Portuguese recorded success; the Sinhalese recorded that it was not the true relic. The contradiction stands.

4. 04

   The Thai connection runs to the present

   The Siyam Nikāya came out of that period and remains the largest order in Sri Lanka.