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.
1. "Gurudeva! Zamindar (Landlord) Jambulingam needs someone to wash clothes at his house," the disciples asked.
2. "To do the job of washing clothes, one must have a donkey to carry the load. We don't have one, what do we do?" Paramartha said.
3. "What if we don't have a donkey? We are here to replace it!" the disciples said.
4. "Still, it would be better to have a real donkey! Go and buy a good one," ordered Paramartha Guru.
5. That evening, a donkey arrived at the ashram.
6. Paramartha, upon inspecting the donkey, twisted its tail to check it. Angered, the donkey kicked him!
7. "Aiyoo!" Paramartha cried out as he was thrown a distance away. "Fools! Didn't you say anything about my greatness to the donkey?" he asked angrily.
8. "Gurudeva! We explained everything about you clearly! Maybe that's why it kicked!" said Madaiyan.
9. "Yes, Guru! That might be the reason," agreed Matti.
10. "It's alright. The hand that strikes is the hand that caresses. Similarly, the donkey that kicks is the one that truly works. Let this donkey stay!" Paramartha said.
11. The local thief, knowing that the guru and disciples had a donkey, planned to steal it somehow.
12. One day, the thief was untying the rope tied around the donkey's neck but hurriedly let the donkey run away upon hearing the disciples' approach, leaving himself in its place.
13. The disciples were surprised and shocked to see a man standing where the donkey was.
14. "What is this? Instead of the donkey, there's a man here!" said Moodan.
15. "Perhaps this is a donkey that knows magic!" wondered Mandu.
16. Paramartha arrived and Muttal asked, "We bought you as a donkey. How did you turn into a man?"
17. "I was originally a man. I became a victim of a sage's anger, who cursed me to become a donkey. Now, the curse has lifted, and I've turned back into a man," the thief lied.
18. Paramartha, not realizing the thief's lie, said, "We escaped because the sage turned the man into a donkey. Had he turned a tiger or a lion into a donkey, it would have eaten us all. Lucky escape!"
19. The disciples, relieved from trouble, rejoiced.
20. Without a donkey, the disciples, who joined the landlord's house for work, carried the clothes in bundles to a moss-filled pond.
21. "It must be as white as white can be," was the landlord's order. Matti rubbed the colored clothes on the stones to make them white and in their effort tore the clothes.
22. Madaiyan turned a white dhoti green by soaking it in moss.
23. Muttal and Mudan turned a single piece of cloth into several pieces by wringing and twisting it.
24. "Finally, we have managed to wash and bundle the clothes well!" they departed for the landlord's house, with happiness.
25. "You gave me one cloth, and here I have brought ten!" boasted Muttal.
26. "I turned the white into green!" exclaimed Matti.
27. The landlord was almost faint upon seeing the clothes they brought.
28. "You fools! You tore the good clothes into loincloths; I trusted idiots for this task!" he lamented as he chased the disciples away.
29. "Hmm... no one will ever understand our skills and talents!" the disciples returned to the ashram, disappointed.