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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 1. The Guru and the disciples were cultivating greens in the garden with the help of the neighbors. 2. The plants were thriving and growing strong. Matti woke up one morning and said, "Ayyo! Gone! Gone!” He screamed. 3. Paramartha and other disciples ran to the garden. 4. There were three beds in total. A cow had grazed the plants in one of the beds. 5. “Blimey! How hard we worked to raise the greens; Everything has come to a ruin like this,” said Paramartha. 6. He asked his disciples to make suggestions so that the cows would not graze the plants. 7. “Master! Before that cow comes to graze, let's pick some greens and feed it!” said Muttal. 8. "If we don't want the cow to eat what we grow, it's enough to sow greens in a separate bed for the cow, which would just eat it and leave!” said Mudan. 9. “You fools! Even if we do as you say, we will lose? The cow will eat that too, eat this too!” Paramartha scolded them. 10. Then Mandu got an idea. “The cow grazes only at night? So, when night comes, all the plants can be uprooted and safely hidden away! When the day comes, we can plant them as before!” He spoke. 11. Paramarthar said that the idea will not wash. 12. “It eats all the leaves because the cow can see the greens. We'll pull out all the plants and plant them upside down! Seeing only the roots above, the cow will be disappointed!” said Matti 13. “Yes! This is the right way!” agreed all. They uprooted only the plants from the first bed and planted them upside down. 14. All the uprooted plants died in one day as all roots were above the soil. 15. “Master! Just invert the pots over these plants and cover them. The cow will be disappointed after looking for the plants!” Madaiyan said. 16. The next day, they bought a motherlode of pots from the market. They tipped each pot over each plant. 17. Due to lack of sunlight, the plants in the second bed also withered in ten days. 18. Guru and disciples were anxious. “Master! Just catch the cow and tie it. We can drink milk every day! If the cowherd comes and asks, we can get a lot of money for our loss of greens and as punitive damages for grazing of the plants by the cow,” said Madan. “Now we have two ways to profit!” said Matti 19. The next night Muttal held the lighted torch in his hand for illumination. Guru and disciples hid in the garden. 20. This time instead of the usual cow came another emaciated cow with skin and bones. 21. Seeing the cow, the lurking guru and disciples jumped on it and rolled on the ground. 22. Mudan grabbed the cow's tail and twisted it. Muttal branded its face with the torch. Madaiyan jumped on its stomach. 23. “Appādā! (expression of relief). We have found a way to apprehend the thieving cow!” Paramartha and his disciples went to bed happily. 24. When the day dawned, Muniyandi, the biggest ruffian in the town, came in search of his cow. 25. Seeing his cow tied up by Paramartha and his disciples in their monastery, he became terribly angry. 26. “Hey! How arrogant are you to tie my cow? You branded the cow and tied its leg. For that, shell out money in a civil manner,” the cow owner shouted and started kicking the Guru and the disciples. 27. “No greens; No money. The Guru and the disciples started running out of the monastery, shouting, "It is enough to be left alone without bodily harm." |