Temple of the Tooth, Sri Lanka

The Buddha declared that four noble persons are worthy of the bodily remains being enshrined and honored, the Buddha, the Personal Buddhas (Pacceka Buddhas,) the Arahanths (Buddha’s disciples) and the Universal Monarchs (Cakkavati kings).

The bodily remains of the Buddha, after their distribution among various states that claimed for the relics, were enshrined in the funerary mounds known as stupa. However, the four canine Teeth were said to have been separately enshrined and worshipped.

Historical records indicate that the Tooth Relic was in the custody of the Anuradhapura rulers, until king vijayabahu I shifted the capital to Polonnaruva in the 11th century. From the time of its arrival in Sri Lanka in the 4th century, until the end of the 10th century, only a few instances are recorded in the chronicle Mahavamsa. Yet, Fa-Hsien, the Chinese traveler monk, who lived in the Abhayagiri monastery in the 5th century has left behind many details about the worship and rituals connected with the Tooth Relic.