Sri Lankan Culture – Nadija Weerarathna

A Brief Introduction

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According to the Mahavamsa the Esala Perahera dates back to the reign of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna who ruled in Anuradhapura from 303 – 331 A.D. It is during this time the sacred tooth relic was brought to the island by Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala from the Kalinga country (Orissa) in India. At this point each of the three major monasteries Mahavihara, Abhayagiri vihara and Jetavana vihara claimed the privilege of protecting the sacred tooth relic. As the king did not want to displease any of the three monasteries
he placed the relic in a golden reliquary that was in turn placed upon the royal chariot which was sent unguided and which ended up at the Abhayagiri vihara. The relic was then placed in a casket made of Phalika (Soapstone) and housed in the Dharma-Chakra built by King Devanampiyatissa in the third century B.C. The king made a royal decree that the sacred tooth relic should be taken around the city of Anuradhapura annually.

Fa-Hsien the famous Chinese traveler in the 5th century A.D in his accounts of India and Sri Lanka describes the annual festival confirming its continuation. According to him every year in the middle of the third month the scared tooth relic was taken in procession from the Dharma-Chakra to the Abhayagiri vihara. The bhikkus and the lay people performed religious rites and ceremonies day and night. At the end of three months it was brought back thus marking the beginning of the Dalada Perahera in Sri Lanka.

Once the capital moved from Anuradhapura, it is not clear that the Dalada Perahera was held annually

The Esala Perahera took a Hindu character during the reign of King Rajasimha the second (1629-1687 A.D.) of the Kandyan kingdom. The evidence of this change has been recorded by Robert Knox, an Englishman who lived in the Kandyan court as a prisoner. According to him the Perahera was conducted to honour the deities of the Devala: Alutnuvara (Uppalavanna), Kataragama and Pattini. During the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasimha (1749 -1781 A.D.) the Perahera consisted only of the four Devala (Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini). At this time a group of bhikkus headed by the most venerable Upali Maha Thera had arrived from Siam for the restoration of Upasampada (the highest ordination qualifying as a bhikku) in Sri Lanka. Under their advice the Esala Perahera which at this stage included only the Devala Perahera was now reorganized with the introduction of a new segment, the Dalada Perahera, which holds a position of primacy in the whole Perahera.