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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 Healing Profession 1. "Guru Natha! What will we gain by practicing medicine from now on?" asked Muttal. 2. "Then what's the benefit for us?" Paramartha Guru asked. 3. "We'll make money. Along with that, we'll also attain merit," replied Mūdan. 4. "Let's do it then," said the Guru. 5. "Is it only for humans?" asked Mandu. 6. "We'll treat humans, animals, infants, and even monkeys!" said Matti. 7. It spread as news that Paramartha and his five disciples were practicing medicine. 8. A man came complaining of fever. Pointing at him, Madaiyan said, "Guru, this man's body is burning with fever!" 9. "Then immediately cool his body to reduce the fever!" said Paramartha. 10. "What should we do for that?" asked Muttal. 11. "Take the man to the tub full of cold water and keep him in the water for one hour," said the Guru. 12. Immediately, both Matti and Madaiyan took the sick person and placed him in the tub with water. Muttal and Mūdan alternately kept him immersed in the water. 13. The patient exclaimed, "Ayyo! Amma!" and ran away. 14. After a short while, an elderly woman arrived. "My eyes are hurting," she said. 15. "There's no time now. Just enucleate your affected eye and leave it here. We will mend it!" said Muttal. 16. The elderly woman ran away, saying, "Ayyo." 17. A while later, another person arrived, complaining his body was shaking all over. 18. "Since he is doing nothing, his body shakes. Tie him up with ropes. Everything will be fine!" said Paramartha. 19. Muttal and Mūdan dragged him to a pillar and tied him up. 20. After tying him up, Matti saw the man's body shaking and said, "Guru Deva! This is a disease caused by cold. To cure it, we need to heat his body!" 21. Hearing this, Muttal scalded him with the burning stick in his hand by drawing lines on the patient’s body. 22. The patient, unable to endure the pain, rolled over and fell. 23. "The toothache is unbearable. What am I to do?" asked another visitor. 24. "If the aching tooth is extracted, all will be fine," said Paramartha. 25. They extracted all the teeth, each disciple a few teeth at a time by tapping them with a knife and gave all the teeth to the patient in a packet. 26. "From now on, you won't have any more toothache!" declared Paramartha. 27. Soon after, a person suffering from elephantiasis arrived. 28. "There are two types of treatment available in the world for this. The good leg should be cut and the elephantiasis leg should be attached in its place. Otherwise, we should shave off the affected leg so it looks like a good leg," said Paramartha. 29. The elephantiasis patient escaped from the medical facility saying, "It is enough to leave my leg alone." 30. Another person came, saying, "Ayya! I have continuous cough." Paramartha thought, the cough is present because the mouth is open. If the mouth is shut close, the cough will stop. Paramartha ordered, "Tie his mouth shut!" 31. Following the Guru's instructions, Muttal tightly shut the man's mouth with rolled torn cloths. 32. "My goat hasn't been able to eat the leaves," said another person. The Guru advised, "Something must be blocking the throat." 33. Madaiyan said, "It is sufficient to make the goat’s mouth wide." 34. Muttal brought a big knife for the purpose. 35. Grabbing the knife, Mūdan went to cut the goat. 36. Shocked, the goat owner pulled the goat and ran away with it. 37. Paramartha and his disciples, under the name of medical practice, performed these actions haphazardly. When the elders of the town heard about this, they decided that from now on, Paramartha and his disciples should not enter the town. |