The Nàtha Devàla is a shrine located on the terrace, in front of the Royal Palace complex in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. It is said to have been in existence even before the

Tooth Relic The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of the Buddha and primarily refers to the purported tooth at the Temple of the Tooth, but can also refer to the one believed to be at S ...

was brought to

. The oldest extant structure in Kandy, it is said to have been built by King Vikramabahu III in the 14th century. The history of the worship of God Natha is not clear. The name 'Natha' literally means ‘no form’ and ‘no shape’, and is therefore generally associated with

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

, the next Buddha. In the days of the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

, this

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

is said have played an important role in the establishment of the royalty. The king was given his royal name at this shrine. The

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

Avalokitesvara, being worshiped as a curer of diseases, the tradition of distributing herbal preparations on New Year day was conducted here until recent times. Hence, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is also associated with the Natha Devale, Kandy. In the annual procession, the Natha Devale procession takes the pride of place among the Devale processions and follows just behind the Dalada Perahara. Vishnu Devale of Kandy, a shrine which is located to the north of the Natha Devale, is in the inner complex of the palace. That shrine is dedicated to God

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, one of the Hindu Triad, is considered a sober divinity who was committed to the protection of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

from the beginning. He is the god that protects Sri Lanka, thus if he protects

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

he protects Buddhism.

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

prophesied that Buddhism would flourish for 5,000 years. More than 2500 years of that 5000 years has gone past. It is said that Natha is still in the battle of protecting Buddhism from

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

, and he has sent gods from the heaven to

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

to protect Buddhism.

References

{{Kandyan period topics History of Buddhism in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Kandy Architecture of the Kingdom of Kandy Archaeological protected monuments in Kandy District

See also

References