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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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| Paramartha Guru
Stories – The Bag of Lies 1. Once, Paramartha was away somewhere, and his disciples were alone on the veranda. That's when liar arrived there. Lying on the veranda, he exclaimed, "Ah, finally! It feels like I'm in heaven now!" 2. Maddi was astonished to hear this. "Really? Have you been to heaven?" Maddi asked. 3. "I'm coming straight from there!" Pulugan (Liar) declared. 4. "Goodness me! We haven't even been able to reach the moon, and you've been to heaven?" one foolish disciple questioned. 5. "Who all are there in heaven?" Muttal inquired. 6."Your master's master, the Bag of cooked rice is there," Pulugan said. 7. "Is that so? Is he well?" asked Mandu. 8. "Not at all! His name might be a Bag of cooked rice, but he's leading the life of a saint there! For cooked rice (food), he plays the cymbal, (struggles for food.) Explanation: The beggar applies on the chest, abdomen and legs the cymbals, dances, sings and begs. That is playing cymbals for food. It means he struggles to find food to eat. He roams around like a madman with ragged clothes, it's quite pitiful to see!" Pulugan (The Liar) replied. 9. "He must have been comfortable here on Earth... To see him suffering there..."Mūdan lamented. 10. "Sir, will you go back to heaven again?" a disciple asked. Pulugan responded, "Oh, I may go even tomorrow!" 11. "Then, we will give you all our new clothes. Take some money and rolls of Ganja too. Take all these to our master's master in heaven," they offered. 12. Pulugan, delighted, agreed saying, "Alright." Immediately, five disciples competed to gather clothes, Ganja, and all the money they could find in the monastery. 13. "Eat on your way," said Matti, handing Pulugan some tamarind rice. 14. Having packed everything into a sac, Pulugan claimed he was off to heaven and ran away. 15. When Paramartha returned, he found out about their deed. "Even in my absence, we have performed a smart act!" boasted Mandu proudly. 16. "Your 'Master,' Rice Bag Swamy in heaven will have no worries now!" Mūdan added confidently. 17. "Someone from heaven sent a person (messenger). We've sent everything your master needed through him!" Muttal explained. 18. Paramartha was perplexed. After the disciples explained, he exclaimed in frustration, "Fools! Why did you do this?" 19. "Did we not do a good thing? Should your master starve?" Matti questioned innocently. 20. "Fools! I have no master! Didn't you know this? Someone has deceived you thoroughly!" Paramartha revealed, leaving the disciples shocked. 21. "Disciples! In a way, it's good that you were deceived! Using the same plan, we can deceive our king too!" Paramartha suggested. 22. So, the guru and his disciples headed to the palace. 23. "Your Majesty! We returned from heaven last night. Everyone there is fine, but your grandfather is begging!" they lied. 24. "Is it possible for someone born into royalty to beg?" questioned Muddi, playing along. 25. "Seeing him in such a state is truly pitiful," Madaiyan added for effect. 26. "We're going back to heaven tomorrow. He asked us to bring lots of money and clothes from you!" they continued the deception. 27. "And he specifically asked for two high-bred horses," added Mandu, pushing their luck. 28. "Give us everything, and we'll safely deliver it to him!" Paramartha assured. 29. The king grew furious. 30. "Lock these six fools in jail for six days!" he ordered. 31. "What wrong did we do, Your Majesty? Your deceased grandfather sent us!" Paramartha tried to deceive further. 32. "Whom are you trying to fool? My grandfather isn't dead yet! Here he is, alive and well!" the king retorted, pointing to his grandfather sitting beside him. 33. "Oh no! Without even verifying whether the king's grandfather had died, we got caught in this mess!" the guru and disciples lamented. |