Other than being situated neighboring magnificent panorama of white beaches and miniature trees, the Lanka patuna temple is famous for being the port where the sacred tooth relic of lord Buddha first entered Sri Lankan soil. According to the legend, King Guhaseeva of Kalinga sent the tooth relic to Thambapanni (Sri Lanka) with his Daughter, princess Hemamala and son in law, prince Danta, when his kingdom was being attacked by King Ksheeradara’s son.

His reason could have been either to protect this precious relic from Brahmins who would destroy it or to keep it away from the attacking prince as the whoever that processes the tooth relic was believed to have a divine right to rule that land.

Whichever the case, the prince and princess had to travel in secret and as the famous legend says, princess Hemamala smuggled the tooth relic out of Kalinga hidden in her hair and arrived at the port of Lankapattana in Sri Lanka. They handed the tooth relic to the reigning king of Sri Lanka, King Keerthi Sri Megawanna, who built the first temple of tooth relic in his capital of Anuradhapura. The tooth relic has been a symbol of sovereignty of the ruler ever since, and has been moved with the capitals of the country until the last monarchic capital of Kandy.