Abstract:
The politics and the caste system which had a special bond with the sacred tooth relic, was an
important component of the Sri Lankan Society during the Kandyan period, it can be assume
that, this tradition evolved from Anuradhapura period up to the Kandyan period of the History
of Sri Lanka. Apart from political conditions the development of a caste system pertaining to
the rituals of the sacred tooth relic was evident by the Kandyan Period, which is the historical
field for this study from the very beginning, assuring the smooth functioning of the relationship
between the ruler and his subjects. Moreover, it dictated who the ruler would be and what were
his responsibilities. Therefore, Sri Lanka rulers worshiped the sacred tooth relic as if it was the
Lord Buddha himself. What is very clear during the Kandyan Period is that there was a certain
group of people who rendered their services to the sacred tooth relic. Especially, there was a
particular caste group which served the sacred tooth relic under the system of Rajakariya. A
noted trend was the assigning of the Kavikara Maduwa to the service of this sacred object. This
clearly shows that from then onwards a caste system centered around the sacred tooth relic
began its formation, as a result of certain castes under the traditional caste system being
assigned to serve the sacred tooth relic. Further, the system continued even after the Kandyan
Kingdom had become a British colony. The research problem was what was the impact of the
Sacred Tooth Relic on Sri Lanka's politics and the caste system? Earlier research on the same
research area seem to have focused on caste relations only. However, this research attempts to
identify the political impact too.
