The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s3.40

v4.c23.s3.40

In 1560 the Portuguese captured the Buddha Tooth of Ceylon¹ and took it to Goa. Bayinnaung sent envoys on a Portuguese ship to Goa, offering, in return for the Tooth, eight lakhs of rupees and, whenever needed, shiploads of rice to provision the fortress of Malacca. Other Buddhist and Hindu kings made offers. The Portuguese wished to accept but were overridden by their archbishop who, in the presence of a large assembly including the Burmese envoys, ground the Tooth to powder, burnt the powder, and cast the ashes into the river. But soon men said that the Tooth was miraculously restored to its temple at Kandy.