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Birth and Name 1. Martyr Devasahayam, known till his baptism in 1745 by his Hindu name Neelakandan, lived in the kingdom of Thiruvithancoor at the extreme southwest of the Indian subcontinent in the first half of the 18th century - from 1712 to 1752. Indian Citizen 2. It was a time when India as a whole and the state of Thiruvithancoor in particular were at the crossroads of their long chequered history. The Mughal emperor Aurangazeb came down to camp in the South in order to unify India as a nation with sword and fire. King Marthanda Varma, the then ruler of Thiruvithancoor, was all set to unify the kingdom by uprooting the petty kingdoms of north Thiruvithancoor. He ruled from 1729 to 1758. Western Powers in Arabian Coast 3. It was a time when the Western powers were gearing up to exploit the state of Thiruvithancoor by setting up industrial production centres all along the Arabian coast- the Portuguese at Goa, the Dutch at Kochi, the French at Mahe and the English at Anjuthenku and Thalaserry. Neelakandan Becoming Devasahayam 4. During this crucial phase of history, Neelakanda Pillai worked as a palace official in the royal court of Marthanda Varma. Inspired by a captured Roman Catholic army officer called Eusthachius Benedictus de Lannoy, the Hindu official of the orthodox Hindu Nair family, Neelakanda Pillai, embraced the Christian faith in 1745 assuming the name Devasahayam (help of God), a literal translation of 'Lazarus' and lived as a totally transformed Christian for 7 short years. His brief Christian life and heroic martyrdom in 1752 have left such a deep impression on the people of the region that 'Devasahayam' has become a household name among all peoples of the region, including Protestants and Hindus. Incidentally, the name of the present bishop of the Protestant (CSI) diocese of Madras is also Devasahayam. There was no such name before the Jesuits in the 18th century coined it as part of their efforts to inculturate Christianity in South India. Attestation of his heroix death by contemporaries 5. His heroic life as a committed Christian and his cruel death for the sake of Christian faith is firmly attested to by several near contemporaries such as
The Vibrant Testimony is his burial in the St. Xavier's Cathedral at Kottar 6. The most vibrant testimony to Devasahayam's holiness of life and heroic martyrdom is the fact that his mortal remains lie interred in front of the then main altar of the church of St. Francis Xavier at Kottar. The sensus fidelium of the people of the time was such that the Catholics at Kottar readily agreed to bury the mortal remains of this layman within their church. They would not have agreed to do so had Devasahayam not been a martyr in the full sense of the word. It is also a providential turn of history that the church in which Devasahayam was buried in 1752 became the principal place of worship and the Cathedral of a new diocese to be born after 178 years, in 1930! Testimonies at Nattalam, his birth place. 7. The above - mentioned tomb is not the only witness to the historicity and martyrdom abound in the district of Kanyakumari where he lived and died. One is his typically Nair home at Nattalam where some Hindu Nair families still trace their link to Neelakanda Pillai. The long knife and the sword he as an official carried around his waist are still kept on protected display in the chapel built there by the diocese. A large crowd gathers there every Friday evening to celebrate the Eucharist in thanksgiving for the gift of a martyr. Testimonies at Vadakkankulam Church 8. Another testimony to the historicity of the martyr is the still extant small shrine at Vadakkankulam, in the neighbouring district of Thirunelveli, where he was baptized in 1745 and where the turban he wore in the royal court is still kept. 9. The iron chain that fastened his hands and legs during the 18 months of torture and mock procession was in this shrine at Vadakkankulam until it was taken out by the local bishop for presentation to Rome and lost on the way. Mutidichan Parai- Testimony at Puliyoorkurichy. 10. Another major testimony to the historicity and heroic martyrdom of Devasahayam is the small "rock fountain" at Puliurkuruchi below the Padmanabapuram palace complex, called in Tamil Muttidichan Parai, meaning 'the rock' from which water gushed forth(and still does) as Devasahayam in excruciating pain and thirst hit his elbow(Muttu) on it. The fountain is still there and pilgrims visit, pray and drink of the water in memory of the martyr.
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