Father A. Adappur’s room in Lumen Jyothis Jesuit House in the city opens into a longish corridor with a view to the entrance. On the parapet are stacked books, papers with a couple of pens strewn carelessly. Drawn close to the parapet are two chairs. This is Adappur’s writing space where he spends long hours wading through voluminous material, jotting down notes, giving final touches to his first work in English. This time again Adappur will be journeying through the life and times of Arnos Paathiri, the remarkable German Jesuit priest who in a short span of time in Kerala mastered Malayalam and Sanskrit and went on to pen some of the most significant works in these languages. His work titled Arnos Paathiri: A Biography is slated for release soon.
Sampaloor is a quiet village in Thrissur district, hardly eight kilometres from Chalakudy. This was once part of the erstwhile Cochin State, and an important one too. The St. Francis Xavier’s church and the remnants of a seminary and printing press here are evidences of the glorious history of this village and a significant phase in the life of Arnos Paathiri. Unfortunately, these ruins - parts of a wall and the foundation of what was once a major centre of learning - need preservation.
“When the Dutch attacked and asserted their supremacy over Cochin in early 1600s the Jesuits fled to the interiors of the State seeking asylum. The Kaimals, huge landholders, offered refuge to the fleeing Jesuits at Ambazhakkad. Here, in Sampaloor, a village close by, a Jesuit centre flourished. By the beginning of the 18th century a seminary, a church and a printing press prospered here. The seminary grew into one of the biggest centres of learning in Asia attracting many scholars and saints. Among the many who came, studied and served here was Arnos Paathri,” says Adappur, removing his spectacles and staring into the distance. “Forgive my memory. It’s hard to remember names and dates at times,” he adds.
History has it that Sampaloor was etymologically known as San-Paul-Ur because of the Portuguese-Jesuit presence. “All these institutions were razed to the ground during Tipu Sultan’s invasion. Sampaloor suffered heavy losses and the Jesuits were forced to abandon the village that they had adopted. Today, we have a reconstructed church and only parts of the wall and the foundation of the seminary,” Adappur continues.
Johann Ernst Hanxleden, as Arnos Paathiri was originally known, was a German Jesuit priest. He completed his philosophical studies in his home town Osnabruck and volunteered to serve in India. There is an account by a doctor, Franz Kaspar Schillinger, who sailed along with Arnos Paathri and two other Jesuits, Wilhelm Weber and Wilhelm Meyr that describes the perilous journey. Weber and Meyr died during the voyage. Arnos set foot in Surat and he proceeded to Goa. Here he completed his spiritual formation (novitiate) and was sent to Ambazhakkad. Arnos joined the seminary at Sampaloor where he completed his Theological studies. He was ordained priest in 1706.
“Arnos Paathiri was hardly 18 or 19 years old when he came to Kerala, sometime in 1700-01. From that time on, from the time he studied in the seminary, he was engrossed in his work. He understood the need to learn Malayalam and Sanskrit and went on to spend a lot of time to learn and master them. It was not his habit to talk about his linguistic achievements. This was the typical Christian idea of humility, love to be unknown. It was a Carmelite priest Paulinus Padre who first collected and published details about Arnos Paathiri and his scholarly pursuits.”
The remarkable story of Arnos Paathri right from his birthplace to Sampaloor, to Palayur and then to Velur which was to become his home till he died was faithfully tracked, recorded and serialised in a regional magazine by Father Adappur. This series of articles was hugely responsible in resurrecting the memories of this famous Malayalam/Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist.
“What I have understood and read is that Arnos Paathiri, after he moved to Palayur, strived to master Sanskrit and Malayalam, the two languages that any missionary had to know to work in Kerala those days. He studied under two Namboodiri scholars, Kunjan and Krishnan from Angamaly, from the famous Thekkemadom in Thrissur. Arnos Paathiri has made remarkable contributions to Malayalam literature of which the most celebrated work is certainly his book Puthen Pana . This poem in simple Malayalam is an inalienable part of Christian life. It is sung in homes on solemn occasions such as Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and other days of Holy Week and Lent, and evenings preceding funerals,” says writer-historian Varghese Angamaly.
Arnos Paathiri, adds Fr. Adappur, was the first to compile a Malayalam dictionary in which he describes Malayalam words in both Sanskrit and Portuguese. He also wrote a short grammar for Malayalam language. He was also the first European to write a Sanskrit grammar, Grammatica Grandonica , and compose Sanskrit verse. The other famous books by him are Devamatavinte Vyakula Prabandha (Poem on the Distress of the Divine Mother) and Umma Parvam (Epic on the Divine Mother).
“A group of people from Velur met me and invited me to visit Paathiri’s church and the other places in and around the village. I did and then continued to track his life and work since then. What I understood during the course of my work was that very little was known of Paathiri in Kerala. This led to the series of articles, which in a way opened the doors to further studies on this great scholar,” informs Adappur.
In Adappur’s recently published book Akshara Keralathinte Navothanamulyangal , which is a collection of articles on the Christian missionaries who studied Malayalam and contributed to its literature with their dictionaries and books, he talks about Arnos Paathiri’s contributions in detail.
“Perhaps, Adappur’s greatest contribution to Malayalam literature is his writings on Arnos Paathiri. Adappur, unlike many priests, has always adopted an independent stand, has been bold in his opinions and views whether on religion, literature, culture or society. And even at this age, he must be nearing 90 years; he has the energy and will to go on with his pursuits. The English work will be another feather in his cap,” feels Varghese Angamaly.
Arnos Paathiri died of snake bite in 1732 at Pazhuvil and was buried in the church there. A memorial was built for him outside the church where his mortal remains were kept. A history museum has also come up there. But in Sampaloor where Paathiris spent his early years and was for long a Jesuit stronghold, and whatever remains of the seminary and press need to be cared for.
