Konankuppam is a small village situated in the

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the place where Rev. Fr. Joseph Beschi, also famously known as Veeramamunivar, wrote the

Thembavani ''Thembavani'' ( ta, தேம்பாவணி; ) is a Tamil classic poetical work by Veeramamunivar ( Costanzo Beschi) on the life of St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ. It is divided into thirty-six ''cantos'', containing 3,615 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Perianayagi Madha

History

The Periya Nayagi

Shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

was constructed by the great missionary

Constanzo Beschi Constantine Joseph Beschi (8 November 1680 – 4 February 1747), also known under his Tamil name of ''Vīramāmunivar'', was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in South India, and Tamil language littérateur. Early years Born in Castiglione ...

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 Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

to be kept in the place where he worked, namely Elakuruchi / Thirukavalur (now in

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

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. Periya Nayagi

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 Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and asked the Bishop of

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

to procure for him a statue from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, 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. Fr Beschi

This life-size statue stands on a pedestal about high and is made of wood and painted in bright colours. In honour of it and of the Church, Beschi composed his Tamil poem

, which vying in length with the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

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 Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

during 1728 - 1729 AD approved his work and published it for the common good. Nearbyshrines

Location

From

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

it is about 200 km to reach

Ulundurpet Ulundurpettai or Ulundurpet (உளுந்தூர்பேட் / உளுந்தூர்பேட்டை) is a Municipality in Ulundurpet taluk of kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is at the intersection of NH 68 an ...

on the Chennai -

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

highway. Konankuppam is about 12 km from Ulundurpet via Mangalampet. It is about a 20 minute journey to reach Konankuppam near Mugasaparur (Virdhachalam TK).

References

{{Reflist http://www.periyanayagimadha.org/ Villages in Cuddalore district