{"id":116845,"date":"2021-08-06T16:21:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T23:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=116845"},"modified":"2021-08-06T16:21:10","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T23:21:10","slug":"a-king-of-burma-and-the-sacred-tooth-relic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/08\/06\/a-king-of-burma-and-the-sacred-tooth-relic\/","title":{"rendered":"A king of Burma and the Sacred Tooth Relic"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maung Htin Aung<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The June 10, 1962 edition of the Times of Ceylon contained the\nfollowing tales about the tooth relic, the Burma connection and other legends\nsurrounding the relic. Excerpts from the article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kandy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Cartoon\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maligawa Tusker steps on the Pavada carrying the casket of relics<\/em>
\nA recent statement in the popular \u2018Believe it or Not\u2019 series that a broom made\nwith the hair of King Bayinnaung of Burma and his Queen was being used to sweep\nthe Temple of the Sacred Tooth at Kandy, seemed to have been received with some\nseriousness in Ceylon because the “Sunday Times” published a\nrefutation of the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Burma, however, it caused only amusement because the absurdity\nof the statement was at once noticed by the average Burmese newspaper reader\nfor Bayinnaung lived and died before the Temple at Kandy was built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The refutation that human hair had too evil a smell to be used as\na broom in the temple, also puzzled the Burmese reader firstly, because the\nRelic originally arrived in Ceylon hidden in a woman\u2019s hair, and secondly\nbecause in Burma brooms made of human hair are never meant to be used in relic\nchambers and special shrine rooms where the gods themselves come to worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conquests<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Bayinnaung was one of the greatest kings of Burma and also one of\nthe great patrons of Buddhism. He united not only the whole of Burma into a\nsingle kingdom but also conquered the whole of Indo-China and parts of China\nand India, thus establishing the Second Burmese Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He built a magnificent palace at Pegu and dazzled with his power\nand glory such hardened European travellers as Caesar Frederic, the Venetian,\nand Ralph Fitch the Englishman, who left to posterity glowing accounts of the\nSecond Burmese Empire and its founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Portuguese documents of the period referred to him with awe as\nGreat Braginoco and he was the one oriental despot to whom the Portuguese of\nthose days showed respect and consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bayinnaung came to the throne of Burma in 1552, the very same year\nthat Dhammapala came to the throne of Kotte, already shaken by the ill wind of\nPortuguese power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of his victories, Bayinnaung was perturbed by the\nnews of the “raid” on Kotte by the Portuguese Viceroy soon after\nDhammapala came to the throne, and in 1554, he sent an embassy to Kotte to\nenquire after the safety of the Sacred Tooth, in the face of persistent rumours\nthat the Relic was no longer in its Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tooth was\nsafe<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The embassy returned with the good news that although the Temple\nhad been despoiled and damaged by the Portuguese “raid”, the Sacred\nTooth itself was safe. Bayinnaung in 1555 sent back another mission, bearing\ngifts for the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission included among its members leading craftsmen who were\nbuilding his great palace at Pegu. Under the instruction of the King, the\nBurmese Ambassador bought a piece of land and donated it as an endowment to\nkeep lights always burning in the Temple. The King also sent a broom made of\nhis own hair and the hair of his chief queen to sweep the steps of the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission returned only after the craftsmen had repaired and\nre-decorated the damaged Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Burmese mission during its stay was royally entertained by the\nRegent Tammita Suriya who had lately replaced Vidiye Bandara, King Dhammapala\u2019s\nown father. Before leaving the Burmese Ambassador promised all necessary\nassistance to help the Regent defend the Sacred Relic and its Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now know from Sinhalese sources that by that time the Sacred\nRelic was no longer in the Temple, but the Burmese could not know that because\nit was a well guarded secret and it may well be that the Regent himself did not\nknow. It was a period of stress and uncertainty and of conflicting rumours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1560, a Portuguese ship arrived at the port of Pegu with the\ndisturbing news that the Portuguese had captured the Sacred Tooth. The King\nlearned from the Captain the following circumstances of the capture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The father of Dhammapla and erstwhile Regent, Lord Vidiye Bandara,\nhad arrived in Jaffna, fleeing from the Portuguese and had been killed with the\nresult that all his treasures fell into the hands of the King of Jaffna, then\nthe King of Jaffna himself had been captured by the Portuguese and among the\ntreasures of Bandara was found the Sacred Tooth Relic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bayinnaung, after hearing the story, believed that the Tooth now\nat Goa was the genuine one. One cannot accuse Bayinnaung of being too\ncredulous, because the Portuguese themselves really thought that the Tooth in\ntheir possession was the genuine one, and perhaps even some of their Sinhalese\ncontemporaries themselves shared in this opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, Vidiye Bandara was known to be a bold and ambitious man\nwho would not hesitate to carry off from the Temple the Sacred Tooth, fully\naware of the prevailing belief “that he who held the Tooth would hold\nCeylon.” Bayinnaung at once chartered the ship and loaded it with\ntreasures assessed by the Portuguese to be worth eight lakhs of rupees at\nprices prevailing at that time, sent it to Goa with an ambassador with full\nplenipotentiary powers to buy the Relic at any cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying the Burmese flag of a golden Peacock on a white background,\nthe ship arrived at a port near Jaffna where the Burmese Ambassador made\nfurther inquiries as to whether the captured Tooth was a genuine one. Fully\nsatisfied of its genuineness, the ambassador proceeded in the chartered ship to\nGoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitter debate<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The Burmese Ambassador met the Viceroy of Goa and asking for the\nTooth, offered to sign, in addition to the eight lakhs worth of treasure\nbrought on the ship, a contract in perpetuity to supply a shipload of rice,\nwhenever necessary, to the Portuguese garrison at Malacca. The Captain of the\nchartered ship proved to be an eloquent advocate on behalf of the Burmese\noffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Viceroy whose treasury was almost empty at the time was very\nmuch interested, but unfortunately, the Archbishop heard about the matter and\nrushing to the vice-regal lodge, argued with him, pointing out that the main\npurpose of the Portuguese intervention in the East was to save the souls of its\npagan inhabitants. The Viceroy, in return pleaded that with an empty treasury\nnothing could be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Viceroy, in fear of ex-communication summoned his advisory\ncouncil and for days there was a bitter debate between the priests and the\nsoldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Archbishop and the other priests referred to the Sacred Tooth\nas “that accursed thing”, and they were of the belief that it had to\nbe destroyed in full view of onlookers, so as to demonstrate to all Buddhists\nthat the Relic had no supernatural powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tooth crushed<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Finally, on an appointed day and hour, in the square before the\ngreat Cathedral, the Archbishop solemnly placed the Tooth in a mortar, ground\nit to powder and burnt the powder in a brazier. The brazier was taken to the\nriver and the ashes cast on the waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G. E. Harvey, in describing the scene, stated that the Burmese\nenvoys had a look of horror on their faces as they watched the proceedings. In\nactual fact, the look was one of utter surprise because they were now sure that\nthe Relic was merely a replica and not genuine. Harvey, with due sarcasm, also\nstated that according to the Burmese envoys, the Tooth had slipped through the\nbottom of the mortar, mounted up into the sky, flown 750 miles to Kandy, and\nalighted on a lotus there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Burmese as a race are sceptical of miracles, but as devout\nBuddhists, certain beliefs are ingrained in them and one of such beliefs is\nthat no relic of the Buddha can be destroyed by any external agency. Just as a\nBuddha would die only a natural death. Therefore, the Burmese envoys were\nsurprised to see the supposed Tooth ground into powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A suggestion<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

So the Burmese embassy sailed back to Burma, but on the way they\ntouched at Kotte and suggested to their old friend, the Regent, that should\ndisorders continue in the kingdom, the Tooth together with the Alms Bowl, could\nbe sent to Pegu for safe custody. Dhammapla, by then had become a Christian,\nbut the Burmese seemed to have thought that he did so for political reasons\nonly and he would always remain a guardian of Buddhism as his name implied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians have commented on the fact that Dhammapala, in spite of\nhis baptism, remained ever popular with his people, and that was perhaps\nbecause like the Burmese envoys, they never could believe that Don Juan\nDhammapala would ever be Don Juan rather than Dharmapala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be mentioned also that the sole aim of Bayinnaung in\nendeavouring to procure the Tooth, was to save it for future generations of\nBuddhists to worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ship finally reached Pegu safely in 1562, and the fact that\nthis treasure ship could sale the Portuguese infested seas without molestation,\ntestified how high was the prestige of the Burmese King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alms Bowl<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In 1567, a mission from Kotte arrived, bringing with it a stone\nAlms Bowl which the mission assured was the genuine Begging Bowl of the Buddha,\nwhich had reposed together with the Sacred Tooth for many centuries. Bayinnaung\nshowered the mission with rich presents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must always remain a matter of conjecture as to whether the\nAlms Bowl gifted to Bayinnaung was the genuine relic or otherwise. The\nSinhalese sources do not seem to mention this particular mission, let alone its\ngift of the Alms Bowl .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, one could argue that no Sinhalese king would part\nwith such a priceless treasure. On the other hand, one could argue also that as\nDhammapala was a devout Christian, he did not value it much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may well be also that either Dhammapala or his trusted Tammita,\nthe former Regent and now the Chief Chamberlain, wanted the Alms Bowl to be\ntaken to a place of safety across the sea from the scene of strife and\nstruggle, especially as Colombo was now the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one curious feature regarding this Alms Bowl: it\ndisappeared from public worship in Ceylon about this time and Sinhalese\nsources, including the Mahavamsa, suddenly ceased to mention it. Both Hocart\nand Geiger noticed this, and the latter commented thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Sinhalese Kings liked to keep the palladium of the\nKingdom (namely, the Tooth and the Bowl Relics) in their immediate\nneighbourhood. It is remarkable how in the later part of the Mahavamsa the\nPattadhatu – the Bowl Relic – is relegated to the background and how the whole\nreligious and political interest centres in the Dathadhatu – the Tooth\nRelic”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nell\u2019s view<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Nell in his “Annals of the Tooth Relic” stated that\nduring the troublous times at Kotte the Bowl Relic was for security secretly\nremoved to Senkadagala (Kandy), just as the Tooth Relic was removed to\nDelgamuwa. However, he cited no authority for his statement regarding the Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, when Portuguese power had waned, it was only the\nTooth Relic which emerged for public worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doubtless Bayinnaung was approached by emissaries from other\nSinhalese kings for assistance and in 1574, he sent another embassy to\nDhammapala with the suggestion that the friendship between the two kingdoms be\nsealed by his marriage to Dhammapala\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Dhammapala was childless, but we do not know whether this\nfact was known to the Burmese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case Dhammapala offered an “adopted daughter” to\nbe Bayinnaung\u2019s queen. The Burmese ambassador was overjoyed, and made his\npreparations to return to Pegu with the supposed princess, but there was some\ndelay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret shrine<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The venerable monks who accompanied the embassy expressed to Lord\nChamberlain Tammita their burning desire to worship the Tooth before they left\nthe shores of Ceylon. The Chamberlain took the Burmese monks and envoys to a\nplace some distance from Colombo and under an oath of secrecy, they were one\nnight ushered to a secret shrine and shown the Tooth Relic to worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The embassy and the princess arrived in Pegu in due course, where\nshe was accorded the highest honours and inducted as one of the three chief\nqueens. Learning that the Tooth was still with Dhammapala, Bayinnaung sent back\nthe embassy in haste, with much treasure and with the request that the Relic be\ngifted to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After obtaining the Tooth Relic from Tammita himself, the embassy\nreturned to Pegu in 1576. The arrival of the Tooth was a joyous occasion for\nthe King and the people of Pegu. Bayinnaung received on his head the Sacred\nRelic, and surrounded by the vassal kings of his empire and his lords and\nladies, he led the procession round the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the King enshrined the Alms Bowl which he had kept in a\ntemporary temple in his palace and the Tooth in the great Mahazedi Pagoda.\nHowever, another Sinhalese mission arrived in great haste, this time, from the\nKing of Kandy. The mission asked for Bayinnaung\u2019s help and assistance for their\nKing to conquer Colombo and punish Dhammapala and Tammita, whom the mission\naccused of treachery and insult to Bayinnaung for palming off a common\nmaid-of-honour as a Sinhalese princess and a piece of the horn of a stag as the\nSacred Tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despondent<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

“Great King” announced to the Sinhalese ambassador\n“our master has a real daughter and also the genuine Tooth”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Bayinnaung was not interested, and saying that in the Burmese\nviewpoint only Dhammapala was rightful King of Ceylon, dismissed the embassy\ncourteously but curtly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bayinnaung continued to extend his friendship and patronage to\nDhammapla and in the great siege of Colombo during 1579-81, he sent his crack\nregiments consisting of Burmese, Mon and Siamese veterans to the beleaguered\ncity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1582, Bayinnaung died and the son who succeeded him proved to\nbe a great soldier but a poor administrator and soon in the far-flung marches\nof his dominions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinglets and Viceroys began to plot, and on the high seas, the\nPortuguese began to wonder whether their dream of empire should cover Pegu\nafter all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Siam and the neighbouring provinces declared their\nindependence, and even the Burmese provinces and Toungoo in Middle Burma and\nArakan on the western sea-board, became kingdoms on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When news came from Ceylon that Vimaladharmasuriya who became King\nof Kandy in 1592, had brought the Sacred Tooth Relic from Delagamuwa and had\ninstalled it in a specially built temple, in the corridors of the great Pegun\nPalace itself, men dared to express their doubt as to the genuineness of the\nTooth enshrined in Bayinnaung\u2019s great pagoda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When further news came that Vimaladharmasuriya had invited a\nmission of Burmese monks from the new Kingdom of Arakan to worship the Tooth\nRelic and also to re-establish the Buddhist Order in Ceylon, even those who\nbelonged to the inner circle of the King of Pegu felt weary and despondent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally in 1600, on an appointed date, the armies of Arakan,\nToungoo, Siam and a Portuguese adventurer by the name of Phillip de Britto\nconverged on Pegu from all four directions and after a great siege, conquered\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

As the Portuguese, the Siamese and the soldiers of Arakan were\nbusy looting the great palace of its untold treasures the Toungoo army quietly\nslipped out of the city to the Mahazedi Pagoda five miles away, and breaking it\nopen, took away the Sacred Alms Bowl and the Tooth Relic to Toungoo where they\nwere enshrined in another pagoda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Britto who had made himself King of Syriam was impaled, and\nthousands watched him suffering in agony until he died three days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the surviving Portuguese including De Britto\u2019s queen herself\nwere sold as slaves. Arakan submitted and escaped lightly because Anaukpetlun\nappreciated its action in sending the mission of monks to Kandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his way back, Anaukpetlun broke open the Pagoda at Toungoo and\ntook away the Alms Bowl and the Tooth to Ava, where they were re-enshrined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His successor, Tharlun (1629-48) thought the Pagoda was not\nmagnificent enough and sent his craftsmen to Ceylon to study the dimensions and\nthe structure of the Maha Thuparama Dagoba at Anuradhapura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These craftsmen on their return built at Sagaing across the River\nIrrawaddy from Ava, a full-sized replica of that Ceylon Dagoba, which came to\nbe known as “Kaunghmudaw” or the “Royal Deed of Merit”. In\nthat magnificent pagoda, the Alms Bowl and the Sacred Tooth have reposed up to\nthe present day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courtesy: Sunday Times (April 06, 1997)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maung Htin Aung The June 10, 1962 edition of the Times of Ceylon contained the following tales about the tooth relic, the Burma connection and other legends surrounding the relic. Excerpts from the article: Maligawa Tusker steps on the Pavada carrying the casket of relics A recent statement in the popular \u2018Believe it or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}