Indian Antiquary Vol 46

SR No.: 032538
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 508
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

Page 113

MAY, 1917)
THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
101
close study and serious preparation, chose South India, the scene of the labours of his cherished hero, Xavier, for his own scene of labours. In 1673 he came to Goa and from there, after the completion of his theological studies, attached himself to the Madura Mission,
From the moment of De Britto's entrance into Madura he began to experience the trials and pangs of a martyr. Rarely indeed has it fallen to the lot of any other missionary in India such a lot as befell him. Before his advent the city of Madura alone had been a centre of Christian activity. The neighbouring villages had been free from it. The advent of De Britto ruffled, in the eyes of his adversaries, this tranquillity of the religious atmosphere and gave rise to a period of storm and excitement. The priests and leaders of Hinduism regarded his intrusion with alarm and set aflame the torch of persecution. The footsteps of the missionary began to be dogged more by his opponents than by his followers, and the voice of his sermon was drowned by the lamentations of his disciples and the exultant cries of his persecutors. On one occasion, while he was at a village near Madura, he was assailed, put in chains, and tortured. Twice the ominous aye was brought, and the calm bearing, the uncomplaining resignation of the pious victim alone unnerved the arm and overcame the zeal of the executioner. De Britto's object, however, was not to work in the vicinity of Madura. He longed to carry the light of his faith to the land of the Maravas, where, he understood, the religion of Christ had not been preached for a long time.
The reception accorded to him here was, if possible, more cruel. The Maravas, fierce in valour and fiercer in prejudice, differed indeed in many respects from the orthodox Hindus, but they were Hindus all the same. Fondly attached to their cree 1, they regarded with hatred those who dared to revile the god who, in their legendary history, had blessed their land and given it his name. Their glory, their tradition, their very life was bound up with the law of Råma. They were Rama's men, his chosen people,-their great pride was in declaring and cherishing the belief in it. To such a race, the preachings of the new missionary were singularly obnoxious. To see Rama denounced and dethroned, to hear his divinity questioned and his greatness belittled was, in their eyes, not only a wanton insult on their nation, but a crime the enormity of which they could not sufficiently condemn. It is not surprising therefore that De Britto had every opportunity of becoming a martyr.
The leader of the anti-Christian movement was a Marava general, one of the most influmtial men in the land. Endowed more with religious zeal than martial valour, this pious soldier followed De Britto in all his movements, and subjected him, through his agents, to a crowd of troubles and difficulties. In the vicinity of Sivaganga, whither De Britto had gone, he was seized and taken to the presence of the Setupati. On the way, he was treated with a singular cruelty. Fettered and tortured he was kept bound, for the space of two days, bound to the stumps of trees. Cords were attached to his frame and he was frequently dipped into a tank. Brought before the important shrine of Kâlayar Koil, he was suspended to a tree by cords fastened to his feet and hands so that he could look with repentance on the god whose name had had reviled. He was confined in a dark dungeon for eleven days and given meagre food. Suffering, however, gave a new strength and a new enthusiasm to Da Britto. The great object of his life was, as has been already mentioned, to get the name of a martyr, to die for the sake of the Cross. The ultimate goal of his ambition was to be ranked with the saints and martyrs of early and medieval Christianity. He