| PAR02-Guru et al GoFishing |
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Paramārthar
Guru Stories
Constantine Joseph Beschi (8
November 1680 – 4 February 1747), also known under his Tamil name
of Vīramāmunivar
(வீரமாமுனிவர்),
was an Italian Jesuit priest,
missionary in South
India,
and Tamil language littérateur (a
literary person, esp. a writer of literary works)..-Wiky
He mastered the Tamil language and published many books with Christian
teachings in Tamil under the name Vīramāmunivar.
His narrative poem "Dembavani" is famous. In the 18th century, he
translated books such as Tirukkural, Devaram, Thiruppugazh and Athichudi
into Latin and other languages. Parmathaguru Kathas, which he wrote in
Tamil culture, adapted from the comic stories popular in Europe at that
time, were famous for their humorous nature and were translated into
many Indian languages.
Vīramāmunivar
wrote the Paramārtha
Guru stories in Tamil, steeped in humor. The naïve Guru and his five
disciples, Matti, Madaiyan, Pēthai, Mūdan, Milēcchan engage in acts,
which
Paramārtha
guru narrates in a story-form with humor. Their names are
everyday pejorative monikers in Tamil Nadu to describe people with
varying degrees of stupidity.
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| 1. Matti had a desire
to go to the sea to catch fish and expressed his wish to his guru. 2. Hearing this, Madaiyan said, "Guru! If we go during the day, the big waves will swamp us. Therefore, we must go at night." 3. "Yes, Guru! That's when the sea would be sleeping!" said Mandu. 4. "But it will be very dark, what should we do?" asked Moodan. 5. "I have a torch in my hand!" said Muttal. 6. The very thought of the sea frightened Paramarthar. However, he agreed because he did not want his disciples to think of him as a coward. 7. The disciples happily prepared a fishing rod for each person. 8. Night came. The guru and his disciples set out to fish in the light of their torches. 9. There was a boat at the shore. Paramarthar and his five disciples boarded it. Matti and Madaiyan started to row. 10. Madaiyan cast his line and caught a frog. 11. Seeing this, the disciples asked, "What is this? It looks strange!" 12. Forgetting it was a frog, Paramarthar explained, "This is also a type of fish. If it eats too much and becomes fat, legs sprout out like this." 13. "Then we can tie the legged fish and raise them at home!" said Matti. 14. After that, only a small fish caught on Mandu's line. 15. "Gurunatha! I have an idea. Even though there are many fish outside the boat, only a few come to us. Let's make some holes in the boat and place some insects next to them! The fish will come through the holes to eat the insects, and we can catch them easily!" said Muttal. 16. "Bravo! A brilliant idea!" Paramarthar praised Muttal. 17. As per his idea, they made a hole for each person in the boat using nails. 18. That was it! Immediately, sea water started gushing into the boat. 19. Seeing this, the disciples screamed "Aiyo" and jumped around, causing the boat to rock even more. 20. Soon, the boat was filled with water and sank into the sea. The guru and his disciples struggled in the water, shouting "Help, help." 21. Hearing their cries, some fishermen swam over and rescued everyone. 22. Once they reached the ashram, the disciples asked, "How did our boat capsize?" 23. "The sea and the fish conspired to overturn our boat!" said Paramarthar. 24. "Then, we must somehow subdue the arrogance of the sea and the audacity of the fish," said Matti. 25. "Guru! Let's kill and eat as many fish as we can," said Madaiyan. 26. "Yes! We shouldn't let them go. Let's catch fish again, come on," said Muttal. 27. They set out to fish again the next day. 28. Once in the sea, Matti said, "Guru! The fish are angrier with you than with us. Instead of using fishing rods, we'll tie you with a rope and lower you into the sea." 29. "All the fish in the sea will come to bite you. We will catch them all at once," said Madaiyan. 30. The guru thought for a moment. "What you say is right," he agreed. 31. Immediately, the disciples tied the guru with a rope and threw him into the sea. Paramarthar, who didn't know how to swim, struggled to breathe once submerged. 32. Seeing air bubbles on the water surface, the disciples exclaimed, "Wow! Our guru seems to be catching a lot of fish." 33. The bubbles stopped coming up as Paramarthar's stomach filled with water. 34. Thinking Guru had caught all the fish, the disciples pulled the guru out of the water. 35. But Paramarthar was unconscious. 36. "He's exhausted from fighting with the fish for so long!" said Matti. 37. When Paramarthar regained consciousness, he said, "Disciples! The sea's anger towards us has not subsided yet. Somehow, we escaped this time. Let's not go near the sea anymore!" 38. In the end, everyone cursed the sea and the fish as they reached the shore. This story, with its blend of humor and folly, underscores the consequences of naive and absurd ideas when dealing with nature. |