Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 194

178
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
SEPTEMBER, 1929
A ST. THOMAS LEGEND.
(those words) will turn out to be an evidence. That BY T. K. JOSEPH, B.A., L.T.
is, they say that the Cranganore territory was in An anonymous Portuguese MS. (Sloane MS. olden times a heath, that it lay uninhabited, and 2748-A, British Museum), by & Missionary, who, in that there was a path through it. Before people or after A.D. 1676, was living at the Carmelite Church inhabited it a paradesi (foreigner) came there and of Anjicaimal (i..., Ernakulam), says (folio 10r) that along with him came also Kurumpa their goddess. the very Hindus affirmed that there was an image of (They say also) that he went away after setting her Our Lady in the pagoda called Tir Corunfa belong. up where the temple now stands; and commanding, ing to the king of Upper Cranganore. The Rev. Fr. "This is the house I have built for you." H. Hosten, S.J., suggests that the author of the MS. After this spectacle the Apostle returned hither. is Fr. Mathew of St. Joseph, who helped Van Rheede Thereupon at sunset a Nair passing that way with on his Hortus Malabaricus, Amsterdam, 12 vols., an umbrella and seeing a woman sitting there, 1676-1693. The Missionary's Tir Corunfa is Tiruk. made advances and went to her. She then requestkurumpa (Sanskrit, Sri Kurumba), i.e., the goddess ed him to get a house built for her by himself. So Kali (a long, I as in call) of Cranganore, in Cochin. | he tried to take her to his house, but she did not We know that some of the early Portuguese went agree. He therefore went away after giving her the into a Hindu temple and worshipped the goddess Umbrella that was in his hand so that the dew may there, mistaking her for St. Mary.
not affect her. Ho came the next morning, caused Vasco da Gama and his companions went to a the necessary things to be brought, built a house Hindu temple in Calicut under the impression that and gave it to her. He then asked her who she was it was a Christian Church, and as he knelt by the and where she came from. "You will soon bavo side of Game, Joao de Sa remarked, "If these be Occasion to know that," she replied, but did not say devils, I worship the true God" (Castanheda : His. definitely who she was and how she had come here. toria Coimbra, 1562-4, p. 57). According to a jour. Still this Nair lusted after her on account of her nal of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama, 1497-99, beauty, and without departing from there lived "They threw holy water over us and gave us some with her many days, thinking of consorting with white earth" (bhasmam, ashes)," which the Chris- her. This Nair was surprised because all those tians of this country are in the habit of putting on days she did neither eat nor drink, and he began to their foreheads, breasts, around the neck, and on make it public. Consequently several people came the forearms. They threw holy water upon the and crowded every day to see her. While all stood captain-major" (Vasco da Gama), "and gave him gazing she turned into a stone image. Then one of some of the earth, which he gave in charge of someone,
those assembled began to dance and said, "I startgiving them" (the Hindus at the temple)to
ed from Ayodhya, and am come to save the people understand that he would put it on later". (Roteiro, living in the Malayalam country from the troubles 1898, p. 54). Vasco da Gama may be regarded as a
falling upon them ". “Will you not receive me?", real Dhariya (i.6., non-wearing) Christian inasmuch she asked. Then all together agreed to receive her as he did not put on the holy ashes of the sixteenth as their protectress, and made a temple (for her) century Manikka Vachakar of Calicut.
there. To this day they have been worshipping her. A palm-leaf MS. in Malayalam, about 150 years And this Neir who gave the umbrella finally beold, has the following legend connecting St. Thomas came the ruler of Cranganore. He is usually called the Apostle and the goddess Kal of Cranganore. the Nair of Kotakkad (s.e., umbrella forest). After (TRANSLATION.]
the lapse of many years in this manner he died with It is said that St. Thomas the Apostle did not out a successor. Then the Swarupam (dynasty) of come to the Malayalam country, that he came only Padinjattedom sprung from the Swarupom of Ayirur to Nagapattanam (Nagapatam), and that some who was given that kingdom. So to this day & man har believed after his preaching there came to the Mala
to go there (to the temple) as the Nair of Kotakkad yalam country and propagated The Way (Chris- with a long-handled umbrella held over him (by tianity). Contrary to that I believe for certain that
another) when the festival of the pagans is celebratthe Apostle himself came to Malabar), preached
ed at the Cranganore temple. and baptized. For I give one evidence. When Although the words of these infidels (Hindus) are the Apostle came as far as Cranganore, a Pulaya false, we can lay them all aside and conclude by (low caste) woman decked in many gold omaments means of our (not including the readers) reason and came there in front of him with beguiling words, the knowledge we have, that as the Nasranis (Syrian after the manner of women, in order to hinder the Christians of Malabar) Bay St. Thomas the Apostle Apostle's journey. He got angry and cursed this came to the Malayalam country, preached, built woman, and by his power commanded, "sit down, churches, and wrought many miracles for making Kurumpa". So in consequence of that curse she The Way known. was turned into a stone image. That image is to this Considering this (one can see that) it is by the day placed in the Cranganore temple.
power of miracles that the Christian religion (Chris. If the words which the Malayalis (i.e., Nairs) say tianity) came into being in Malabar). Therefore about this matter are taken into consideration 1 it must be believed as certain that just as Our Lord
• Reprinted from the Malabar Herald dated 15th September 1928.