தேவசகாயம் பிள்ளையின் முத்திப்பேறு பட்டமளிப்பு விழாத் திருப்பலியில் இலட்சக்கணக்கான பக்தர்கள்
டிச.03,2012.
நாகர்கோவிலில் இடம்பெற்ற தேவசகாயம் பிள்ளையின் முத்திப்பேறு பட்டமளிப்பு
விழாத் திருப்பலியில் இலட்சக்கணக்கான பக்தர்கள் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
புனிதர் பட்ட நிலைகளுக்கானத் திருப்பீடப் பேராயத்தின் தலைவர் கர்தினால் Angelo Amato, இறையடியார் தேவசகாயத்தை முத்திப்பெற்றவர் என அறிவித்தத் திருப்பலியில் இந்தியாவின் கர்தினால்கள் Oswald Gracias, Telespore Toppo, George Alenchery, புதிய கர்தினால் Baselios Cleemis உட்பட, நாற்பதுக்கும் அதிகமான பேராயர்களும், ஆயர்களும் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.
கோட்டாறு ஆயர் பீட்டர் ரெமிஜியுஸ், கர்தினால் Amato வுடன் முன்னிலை வகிக்க, ஆயிரத்திற்கும் மேற்பட்ட குருக்களும், அருள் சகோதரிகளும் இத்திருப்பலியில் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
அரசு மற்றும் அரசியல் கட்சிகளின் சார்பில், தமிழக வனத்துறை அமைச்சர் KT பச்சைமால், கன்னியாகுமரி பாராளுமன்ற அங்கத்தினர் Helen Davidson , நாகர்கோவில் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர் நாஞ்சில் முருகேசன் உட்பட பலர் இவ்விழாவில் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
Devasahayam was marched to Aralvaimozhy by soldiers, over the period of a
few days. As was customary in those days for very cruel criminals,
his body was painted with red and black spots, and he was intentionally
marched through populated areas, sitting backward on top of a water
buffalo[7]:283 [10] (the mythical vehicle or vahana of Yama, the lord of
death in Hinduism) throughoutSouth Travancore from Padmanabhapuram
palace. On the way en-route, he was daily beaten with eighty stripes,
pepper rubbed in his wounds and nostrils, exposed to the sun, and given
only stagnant water to drink.[10]
While halting at Puliyoorkurichi,
not far away from the Padmanabhapuram Palace of the Travancore king, it
is believed by Christians that God quenched his thirst by letting water
gush through a small hole on a rock, the very place where he knelt to
pray. The water hole is still to be found in the compound of a church at
Puliyoorkurichi, about 15 km from Nagercoil.[5]:54 [7]:285
It is also believed that the leaves of a neem (Margosa) tree in the village of Peruvilai, to which he had been tied while being marched to Aralvaimozhy, cured illnesses of sick people in the village and around. Many more miracles are attributed to Devasahayam Pillai.[7]:286
[edit]Death
In 1752, the original order of the King and his Dewan was to deport him from Travancore, into the Pandya country, at Aralvaimozhy. He was let off in the forested hills near Aralvaimozhy. There, he is believed to have begun deep meditations, and the people from the adjacent villages began visiting the holy man. Christian sources allege that at this time, high caste Hindus plotted to do away with Devasahayam.[6]:134
Some people believe that the soldiers went up the forested hills and tried to shoot Devasahayam, but were unable to fire; after which he took the gun in his hands, blessed it and gave it back to the soldiers to shoot him to death, if they wished to. The soldiers took the gun back and fired at him five times. His body was then carelessly thrown out near the foothills at Kattadimalai.[7]:285[11]:83
It was at Kattadimali in Kanyakumari district that Devasahayam Pillai died on 14 January 1752.[1] His mortal remains were interred near the altar inside St. Xavier's Church, Kottar, Nagercoil, which is now a Cathedral.[7]:285
[edit]Canonization efforts
According to the report submitted by the then Bishop of Cochin (under whom Kanyakumari church was then functioning) in 1756 CE, the Christian martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai was promptly intimated to Vatican. Prominent witnesses to his saintliness and martyrdom include Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar.[12]
In 1780, Kariattil Ouseph Malpan submitted a petition to the Vatican for canonization of Devasahayam Pillai.[11]:94-96 [13]
The church historian C. M. Agur concluded in 1903 that although apostasy was never considered illegal in Travancore, it was not viewed indifferently, particularly in the case of the King's palace servants, and this led to the martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai.[7]:285
In 1984, a group of laymen once again took the initiative to seek the beatification of Devasahayam.[14] This is unusual for a layman,[1] but he is regarded as one who was totally devoted to Christ.[2] At the beginning of the 21st century, many Christian devotees started offering prayers at his tomb.[2]
After a series of initiatives and much deliberation, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), Tamil Nadu council, later in 2004, duly recommended his beatification, following scrutiny of available historical evidence, in consultation with others.[2] Bishop Chrysostom said that the CBCI did not intend any controversy whatsoever in moving this forward.[2]
However, Professor A. Sreedhara Menon, a noted historian and writer on Travancore, said that no cases of persecution in the name of religious conversion were recorded in the history of the kingdom.[3] P. Parameswaran, president of the Hindu spiritual organisation Vivekananda Kendra, accused the CBCI of an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments. Referring to the Travancore state manual, he insisted that Devasahayam was a palace employee who was executed after confirmation of sedition, because he had tampered with palace records and passed them to De Lannoy.[3]
In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues" - a major step towards beatification - so he is now referred to as "Venerable".[15]
[edit]Declaration of Martyrdom and Beatification
Devasahayam Pillai will be declared a Martyr and Blessed on December 2, 2012, at a solemn ceremony to be held in the Diocese of Kottar at Carmel Higher Secondary School Grounds near the place of his burial. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Angelo Cardinal Amato will preside at the function.
Devasahayam's tomb in St. Xavier Cathedral of the Diocese of Kottar is being restored and beautified in view of the declaration of maryrdom and beatification.[16]
[edit]Places of interest
Devasahyam Pillai is buried in the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier at Kottar in Nagercoil.[1][8]
Devasahyam Pillai’s clothes and other belongings are kept in a church in the small town of Vadakkankulam in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu State, India. They are exposed at the church on 15 August every year, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. His wife was buried in the cemetery there.
Puliyoorkurichi, location of the water fountain believed to have quenched Devasahayam’s thirst, is on the Nagercoil – Trivandrum highway.
Aralvaimozhy, where Devasahayam was killed, is also on the Nagercoil – Tirunelveli highway. At that spot on the hillock (called Kaattadimalai), devotees believe that rocks fell and were broken at that moment. One rock at the place makes bell-like sounds when knocked with a stone.
It is also believed that the leaves of a neem (Margosa) tree in the village of Peruvilai, to which he had been tied while being marched to Aralvaimozhy, cured illnesses of sick people in the village and around. Many more miracles are attributed to Devasahayam Pillai.[7]:286
[edit]Death
In 1752, the original order of the King and his Dewan was to deport him from Travancore, into the Pandya country, at Aralvaimozhy. He was let off in the forested hills near Aralvaimozhy. There, he is believed to have begun deep meditations, and the people from the adjacent villages began visiting the holy man. Christian sources allege that at this time, high caste Hindus plotted to do away with Devasahayam.[6]:134
Some people believe that the soldiers went up the forested hills and tried to shoot Devasahayam, but were unable to fire; after which he took the gun in his hands, blessed it and gave it back to the soldiers to shoot him to death, if they wished to. The soldiers took the gun back and fired at him five times. His body was then carelessly thrown out near the foothills at Kattadimalai.[7]:285[11]:83
It was at Kattadimali in Kanyakumari district that Devasahayam Pillai died on 14 January 1752.[1] His mortal remains were interred near the altar inside St. Xavier's Church, Kottar, Nagercoil, which is now a Cathedral.[7]:285
[edit]Canonization efforts
According to the report submitted by the then Bishop of Cochin (under whom Kanyakumari church was then functioning) in 1756 CE, the Christian martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai was promptly intimated to Vatican. Prominent witnesses to his saintliness and martyrdom include Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar.[12]
In 1780, Kariattil Ouseph Malpan submitted a petition to the Vatican for canonization of Devasahayam Pillai.[11]:94-96 [13]
The church historian C. M. Agur concluded in 1903 that although apostasy was never considered illegal in Travancore, it was not viewed indifferently, particularly in the case of the King's palace servants, and this led to the martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai.[7]:285
In 1984, a group of laymen once again took the initiative to seek the beatification of Devasahayam.[14] This is unusual for a layman,[1] but he is regarded as one who was totally devoted to Christ.[2] At the beginning of the 21st century, many Christian devotees started offering prayers at his tomb.[2]
After a series of initiatives and much deliberation, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), Tamil Nadu council, later in 2004, duly recommended his beatification, following scrutiny of available historical evidence, in consultation with others.[2] Bishop Chrysostom said that the CBCI did not intend any controversy whatsoever in moving this forward.[2]
However, Professor A. Sreedhara Menon, a noted historian and writer on Travancore, said that no cases of persecution in the name of religious conversion were recorded in the history of the kingdom.[3] P. Parameswaran, president of the Hindu spiritual organisation Vivekananda Kendra, accused the CBCI of an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments. Referring to the Travancore state manual, he insisted that Devasahayam was a palace employee who was executed after confirmation of sedition, because he had tampered with palace records and passed them to De Lannoy.[3]
In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues" - a major step towards beatification - so he is now referred to as "Venerable".[15]
[edit]Declaration of Martyrdom and Beatification
Devasahayam Pillai will be declared a Martyr and Blessed on December 2, 2012, at a solemn ceremony to be held in the Diocese of Kottar at Carmel Higher Secondary School Grounds near the place of his burial. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Angelo Cardinal Amato will preside at the function.
Devasahayam's tomb in St. Xavier Cathedral of the Diocese of Kottar is being restored and beautified in view of the declaration of maryrdom and beatification.[16]
[edit]Places of interest
Devasahyam Pillai is buried in the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier at Kottar in Nagercoil.[1][8]
Devasahyam Pillai’s clothes and other belongings are kept in a church in the small town of Vadakkankulam in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu State, India. They are exposed at the church on 15 August every year, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. His wife was buried in the cemetery there.
Puliyoorkurichi, location of the water fountain believed to have quenched Devasahayam’s thirst, is on the Nagercoil – Trivandrum highway.
Aralvaimozhy, where Devasahayam was killed, is also on the Nagercoil – Tirunelveli highway. At that spot on the hillock (called Kaattadimalai), devotees believe that rocks fell and were broken at that moment. One rock at the place makes bell-like sounds when knocked with a stone.
No comments:
Post a Comment