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People sought his advice and prayers 41. As the Christians and others ceaselessly visited to seek his advice and prayers his enemies decided to move him to an open space under the hot sun and heavy rain, with a handful of cooked rice as a pittance that he might die a slow death. The name of this new place is mentioned neither by Fr. Buttari nor by any other author. Archbishop Zaleski, however, at the end of the 19th century visited the places in person and identifies it as Peruvilai. Devasahayam and "Vannars" and 7-month in Peruvilai. 42. Furthermore the people of Peruvilai, a very ancient Christian community, have been preserving the memory of the martyr's sojourn with them how he was instrumental in bringing the poor community of Vannar (people who make their living by washing the clothes of others) into the Catholic religion (it is significant that good many of the vannars in the district are Catholics and that in their homes the picture of Devasahayam in chains finds a prominent place), and how during his 7-month long stay at Peruvilai he prayed for the wife of local jailor and obtained for her a child. Jailorbegets a child atthe prayer of Devasahayam 43. Zaleski who later as Apostolic Nuncio visited the place and the progeny of the jailor testifies that this child, obtaind through the prayers of Devasahayam, eventually became the father of several children. Moving to Thovalai 44. On account of the large concourse of people seeking Devasahayam for his prayers and blessings it was decided to despatch the latter to where condemned criminals were sent, namely Thovalai at the extreme south-east of the kingdom. 45. It was the time of the second invasion of Thovalai by Chanda Sahib, the ambitious commander of the army of the Nawab of Arcot. At the first invasion in order to prevent such invasions in the future, a wall was erected from Kanyakumari upto Aralvaimozhi. It was one of these "fort gates" that became the last resting place of the martyr. Here too God manifested his healing power through his servant Devasahayam. He was brought here in 1751 and after one year of want and exposure to the sun and rain, fearing the increase of the people visiting the martyr it was secretly decided to kill him. His Martyrdom on 14th January 1752 46. At the mid-night of January 14,1752 as he lay in a restless state of prayer and sleep he was awakend and as his legs could not move, he was carried by the soldiers to a hillock in the thick of Aralvaimozhi forest, while animals were out in search of prey. 47. It was indeed a significant moment: a reputed palace official being carried away like an animal (or rather like a sacrificial lamb?) to be slaughtered for no crime other than accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ and for living it out by a totally transformed social life. He prayed before death As they reached the venue of the execution he begged for time to pray. What a faith-filled prayer it was! The flat rock kneeling on which he prayed still bears the mark of his elbow and knee. He died with Jesus name on his lips. 48. Making him to stand on the hillock three muskets were fired at him and he died with the name of the Lord Jesus on his lips. It is indeed a sad irony that the muskets that killed Devasahayam were produced at the Udayagiri fort supervised by de Lannoy who led him to the Christian faith! His burial in St. Francis Xavier's Church at Kottar 49. The dead body was left on the rock below, wither it rolled down, for a night or two. The Christian merchants passing that way to the markets at Kottar came into possession of whatever was left over of the body after it was eaten by the wild animals. They handed it over to be buried in the famed church of St.Francis Xavier at Kottar. His tomb, excavated for the last time on April 16,1913 for the Inquisitio Canonica ordered by Bishop Aloysius Benziger, revealed a box containing four major bones besides three disjoint parts of a skull and about thirty small bones, pieces thereof and ashes. Also found in the box were two keys and two silver leaves on which something must have been once written. This excavation proved beyond doubt the tradition and full belief of the people that the mortal remains of Martyr Devasahayam lie buried in St.Francis Xavier's Catheral, Kottar. Places of Pilgrimage. 50. Since the holy Martyrdom of the servent of God Devesahayam, the four places connected with his life and Martydom have developed into places of pilgrimage where thousands of people of all religion and from every walk of life frequent every day: 1. Nattalam, the place of his birth, 2.Puliurkurichi, the place marked by his sufferings, 3. Aral Kurusadi (called 'Devasahayam Mount'), where he was shot dead for his faith and his body left to be eaten by wild animals, 4. Kottar, where his mortal remains were buried. + Leon A. Tharmaraj Bishop of Kottar
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