 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2009) |
Konankuppam | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Konankuppam  Konankuppam | |
| Coordinates: 11°36′N79°15′E / 11.600°N 79.250°E Coordinates: 11°36′N79°15′E / 11.600°N 79.250°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Cuddalore |
Konankuppam is a small village situated in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in India. It is the place where Rev. Fr. Joseph Beschi, also famously known as Veeramamunivar, wrote the Thembavani in Tamil. [1]
The Periya Nayagi [2] Shrine was constructed by the great missionary Constanzo Beschi.
The place where the shrine is located was once a forest place in Mugasaparur at Konankuppam. People used to come here for feeding their flocks. There were many trees and bushes here. In the 17th century, the Italian priest and a great missionary, Fr. Beschi, brought two statues of Mother Mary to be kept in the place where he worked, namely Elakuruchi / Thirukavalur (now in Kumbakonam Diocese). He preached all over Tamil Nadu and on the way to his place he happened to pass over this forest and due to tiredness he slept under a tree with the two statues. The boys who were looking after the cattle playfully hid one of the statues behind the bush. Fr. Beschi was shocked to know that one statue was missing and went to his place sadly.
There was a man called Kachirayar the Zamindar of Mugasaparur. He had no child. Every day he used to pray to God. One day Mary appeared to him in his dream and said, "Kachirayar, I'm alone in the forest. If you build a chapel for me, I'll give a child to you." After saying this she disappeared. Hearing this he was very happy and began to search for the statue in the forest. As they cut the bushes and trees, they found the statue behind a big bush. This statue was placed in the shrine, where it still stands. People constructed a small chapel and placed this statue there and began to worship.
After some time Fr. Beschi happened to hear about this and came to Konankuppam and saw the small chapel built for the statue which he lost once. He was delighted and decided to make Konankuppam his work place. He constructed the shrine with the help of Kachirayar which exists today. It is said to have been the first place of worship he erected, and when it was completed he went to Madras and asked the Bishop of Mylapore to procure for him a statue from Manila, an image of the virgin, in native dress of Tamil Nadu and bearing the child Jesus in her arms, fashioned after a model he had made. The image eventually arrived and was set up in the church, where it still is today.
This life-size statue stands on a pedestal about 10 feet (3.0 m) high and is made of wood and painted in bright colours. In honour of it and of the Church, Beschi composed his Tamil poem Thembavani, which vying in length with the Iliad itself is by for the most celebrated and most voluminous of his works. He completed this work in 1726. The Tamil conference conducted in Madurai during 1728 - 1729 AD approved his work and published it for the common good.
From Chennai it is about 200 km to reach Ulundurpet on the Chennai - Trichy highway. Konankuppam is about 12 km from Ulundurpet via Mangalampet. It is about a 20 minute journey to reach Konankuppam near Mugasaparur (Virdhachalam TK).
Uthamar Kovil in Uthamarkoil, a village in the outskirts of Tiruchirappalli in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Trimurti Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purushothaman Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Poornavalli Thayar.
Vaitheeswaran Koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Shiva, located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran meaning the "God of healing" and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure diseases. Vaitheeswaran is a Tamil derivative from vaidya (Doctor) and Ishvara (God/Master). The presiding deity is Sri vaidyanathan, facing towards West whereas East side is the common one. He is the God of Healing. When pronouncing in Tamil, it sounds like "vaideeswaran". It is one of the nine Navagraha temples and is associated with the planet Mars (Angaraka).
San Thome Church, officially known as St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Madras (Chennai), in Tamil Nadu. The present structure dates to 1523 AD, when it was rebuilt by the Portuguese in Goa and Bombay, over the tomb of Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve commissioned by Jesus Christ. In 1896, it was renovated in the Madras province according to neo-Gothic designs, as was favoured by British architects in the late 19th century. It is one of the only three churches of the apostolic age of ancient Christianity, known for enshrining the tomb of an apostle and are still standing in the world today; the other two being the St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain. In antiquity, there was a basilica built over the tomb of the Apostle Philip in Hierapolis of Phrygia, present-day Pamukkale.
Constantine Joseph Beschi, also known under his Tamil name of Vīramāmunivar, was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in South India, and Tamil language littérateur.
Azhagiya Manavalan Perumal Temple in Uraiyur, a suburb Tiruchirappalli in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Azhagiya Manavalan and his consort Lakshmi as Kamalavalli.
Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica, also known as Poondi Madha Basilica, is a Catholic pilgrimage centre located in Tamil Nadu, South India. It is located in Alamelupuram-Poondi, a small village located adjacent to Thirukattupalli in Thiruvaiyaru taluk of Thanjavur district. The shrine was consecrated as a Minor Basilica in 1999 by Pope John Paul II.
Thembavani Thembavani is a Tamil classic poetical work by Veeramamunivar on the life of St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ. This Tamil Divine Comedy is divided into thirty-six cantos, containing 3,615 stanzas.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salem is a diocese located in the city of Salem in the Ecclesiastical province of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India.
Little Mount (Chinnamalai) is a small hillock that lies on the bank of river Adayar in the Saidapet taluk of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is traditionally acknowledged to be one of the places where St. Thomas, an apostle of Jesus, lived and preached when he came to India. In 1551 AD, Portuguese built a Church over the site where St. Thomas is believed to have lived in. Later, in the year 1970, a part of this old Church was demolished and a larger circular Church was built to accommodate more devotees.
Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
Periyanayagi Madha shrine is a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to St. Mary, mother of Jesus constructed by an Italian missionary Fr. Constantine Beschi also called as Veeramamunivar. It is in Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu, India.
Periyanayagi Madha Shrine is a Roman Catholic church in the village of Avur, 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the town of Pudukkottai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was constructed by Rev. John Venatius Bachet in 1547. The church was rebuilt in 1747. The renowned Italian missionary and Tamil scholar Joseph Beschi served in this church.
Malayattoor is a village in Angamaly Block Panchayth. It is situated around 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Angamaly in Ernakulam District in the state of Kerala in South India. The name `Malayattoor' is an amalgamation of three small words. Mala (Mountain) Arr (River) Oore (Place). This is to say, Malayattoor is a meeting place of mountain, river, and land.
Azhwarthirunagari Permual Temple is a Hindu temple, dedicated to the god Vishnu, in Alwar Thirunagari, a town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 26 km from Tirunelveli. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Adinathar and his consort Lakshmi as Athinathanayagi. The temple is also classified as a Navatirupathi, the nine temples revered by Nammazhwar located in the banks of Tamiraparani river. The temple is the most prominent among the nine Navatirupathi temples. The temple is one of the Navagraha temples in Vaishnavism, associated with Jupiter, the Guru.
Gabriel Lawrence Sengol was the Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tiruchirapalli in India.
Thiruvalluvar Temple, also known as the Ekambareswarar–Kamakshi Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the poet-saint Valluvar in the neighborhood of Mylapore in Chennai, India. The shrine is located within the Ekambareswarar temple complex. Believed to have been constructed in the early 16th century, the temple was extensively renovated in the 1970s. Traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Saint Valluvar, the temple is the oldest ever built to Valluvar. The temple also serves as the venue for meetings of Tamil language enthusiasts. While many consider the temple as the birthplace of Valluvar, some consider it as his samadhi.
Madhava Perumal Temple is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu located in Mylapore, Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Madhava Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Amirtavalli. The temple is believed to be the birthplace of Peyazhwar, one of the first three of the twelve azhwar saints of the 6th-9th century CE.
Ranganathaswamy temple in Karamadai, a town panchayat in Coimbatore district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located 23 km from Coimbatore in the Coimbatore - Mettuplayam highway. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Ranganathaswamy and his consort Lakshmi as Ranganayaki in this temple.
Mary Matha Shrine is a Roman Catholic church located at Thiruvithamcode in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu in India. The church is also called the Church of the Ascension of our Lord or the Ascension Jesus Church and is believed to have been established by St Francis Xavier. The shrine of Mary at Thiruvithamcode is rich with its own historical significance and importance. The fact that many saints have sanctified this soil by their visit to this place also adds more importance to this place. Thiruvithamcode was previously part of the Kingdom of Travancore.
Edward Jewitt Robinson was a 19th-century Protestant missionary to British India. He is best known as one of the earliest translators of the Tirukkural into English.
