History of relics

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THE oldest Buddhist text, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, gave an account of Buddha's cremation some 2,500 years ago. His ashes were distributed equally among eight kings to avoid conflict. The kings took the holy ashes back to be enshrined in eight stupas in northern India. Since then, varying accounts of Buddha's tooth relics have surfaced. The most widely accepted legend is that there were four, of which only two are in the human world. Historical texts have documented how these two teeth have survived countless epic wars, journeys and sagas before finding their way to present-day Sri Lanka and China.