Kandy Esala Perahera 2012

Kandy Perahera

Location: Kandy, Sri Lanka
Period: July/August of each year; Year 2012: 19th July 2012 to 2nd August 2012 [Commences on Esala Full Moon Poya Day on the month of July and Concludes on Nikini Full Moon Poya Day on the month of August.]

Dates of the Kandy Esala Perahera 2012: From 19th July 2012 to 02nd August 2012

Date Event 2012-07-19 Kapsituvima (Planting of the 'Kapa') 2012-07-19 to 2012-07-22 Internal Perahera of Four Devales 2012-07-23 1st Kumbal Perahera 2012-07-24 2nd Kumbal Perahera 2012-07-25 3rd Kumbal Perahera 2012-07-26 4th Kumbal Perahera 2012-07-27 5th Kumbal Perahera 2012-07-28 1st Randoli Perahera 2012-07-29 2nd Randoli Perahera 2012-07-30 3rd Randoli Perahera 2012-07-31 4th Randoli Perahera 2012-08-01 5th Randoli Perahera 2012-08-02 Day Perahera (Water Cutting Ceremony "Diya Kepeema")

Kandy Perahera Tickets :

For advance purchase, transportation to Kandy and tours in Sri Lanka contact Lakpura Travels (Pvt.) Ltd., Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

The best time to see Kandy Esala Perahera: the last two nights
Festival: the grandest Buddhist procession of Sri Lanka
Significance: display of Sacred tooth Relic of Buddha

The timings of the Kandy Perahera are notified by no less than booming cannon fire, which is heard all over the city of Kandy.
1. The commencement of the festival
2. The placing of the golden casket upon the back of the tusker.
3. The commencement of the procession of Kandy Perahera
4. The completion of the Kandy Perahera

The order of the procession of Kandy Perahera

Kandy Perahera procession features five processions organized by the Maligawa Perahera or Perahera of the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic, the most venerated Buddhist temple of Sri Lanka and four shrines dedicated to Hindu Gods and a Goddess, i.e. the Shrine of God Natha, the Shrine of God Maha Vishnu, the Shrine of God Katharagama and the Shrine of Goddess Pattini. By 8pm, the Maligawa Perahera or the procession of Sacred Temple of the Tooth of the Buddhists takes the lead and joined by the processions of four Hindu shrines.

The second procession is from the shrine dedicated to God Natha. The 14th Century shrine that faces the Sri Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Tooth is said to be the oldest building in Kandy.

The third is from the shrine dedicated to God Vishnu. Vishnu Devale also known as the Maha Devale is located close to the Natha Devale.

The fourth procession is from the Kataragama Devale dedicated to the God of Skanda, the deity of Kataragama. Kataragama shrine is located on Kottugodalle Street of Kandy. This procession includes Kavadi, the peacock dance, in which the pilgrim dancers carry semicircular wooden contraptions studded with peacock feathers on their shoulders.

The fifth and final procession is from the shine dedicated to goddess Pattini. Pattini shrine is located to the west of the Natha Devale.

Source - Click here

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Old Days in Sri Lanka

Here you can find some of the pictures taken in old days in Sri Lanka. I have got these pictures from internet. 

See all pictures and feel the great remembrance of Sri Lanka..

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Old Map of Sri Lanka 

Dalada Maligawa - Kandy

Kandyan lady

Kandyan Family

Weddas

Colombo Museum

Construction Train Line - Haputale

Deforestation

Family-1895

Fishermens

Galle Face Hotel - Colombo -1860

Grand Oriental Hotel

Journey to up country

 Matara Station -1895

Matara, Weligama, Polwatta - Rail-Bridge

Mt Lavinia Hotel -1865

Mt Lavinia Hotel -1865

Mt Lavinia Hotel -1865

Ohiya Station – 1893

Peradeniya Garden Entrance

Rikshaw-1895

Sri Padaya

Sri Padaya

Talpe Station - 1895

Temple at Slave Island

Wellawatta-Stream

White Lady with Tamil Servants

Sri Maha Bodhiya - Anuradhapura

Banyan Tree - Colpetty

Bristol Hotel - Colombo

Colombo-Kandy Rail Way

Dimbula Bungalow

Galle Face Hotel - Colombo

Canal - Negambo

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Sri Dalada Maligawa

Located in Kandy, long a center of the Buddhist faith, the stunning 17th-century Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is believed to house the left upper canine tooth of the Lord Buddha himself. This precious relic attracts white-clad pilgrims, bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani, every day.

History

According to legend, the tooth was taken from the Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre. It was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 AD, hidden in the hair of Princess Hemamali who fled the Hindu armies besieging her father's kingdom in India.

It immediately became an object of great reverence and was enshrined in a series of nested jeweled reliquaries. The tooth was brought out for special occasions and paraded on the backs of elephants, which are sacred to the Buddha. where it survived numerous attempts to capture and destroy it.

When the capital was moved to Kandy, the tooth was taken to the new city and placed in temples built to honor it. The temple was originally built under Kandyan kings between 1687 and 1707, but later severely damaged during the 18th-century colonial wars against the Portugese and Dutch. After the wars, the original wooden structures were restored in stone.

In January 1998 Hindu Tamil separatists bombed the temple, damaging its facade and roof. Restoration began immediately afterward.

BBC Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

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