Damsels on either side of the stone stairway shows South Indian influence. |
The damsel represented in the 'Tivanka' - three curves - posture. |
The 'Chinese lion' guarding the stairway |
There is a story by the famous traveler Marco Polo that the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan sent a messenger to King Parakramabahu III to obtain the tooth, hair and bowl relics. The King not wishing to offend the emperor was able to please him by sending two fake teeth which were in turn graciously received and established with ritual worship in China. It is not known where these fake teeth have ended up today. But wherever the real tooth traveled throughout the island of Lanka, a new palace was built to enshrine the relic and today it resides in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy and is considered to be the most sacred of all buddhist relics and Lankan shrines. '
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