The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Balapitiya, Madu Ganga, Galle District · 6.3073°, 80.0521°
An island temple in the Madu Ganga estuary reached only by boat, built in the 1860s by the businessman Samson Rajapakse around a Bodhi tree raised from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. It is remembered as a resting place of the Buddha's tooth relic in the fourth century.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Princess Hemamali and Prince Danthakumara are said to have carried the tooth relic from India disguised as brahmins, the relic hidden in the princess's hair, and to have concealed it at Kothduwa before handing it to King Sirimeghavanna.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Colonial era
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