The Tortures inflicted on Devasahayam Pillai by the persecutors can be divided into mental and physical.
- Mental Tortures :
Mental Tortures are those which are aimed at causing mental fatigue, mental strain and shame. When in the king’s court the Dalava and Singaram Annavi were deriding the Christians, calling them vile, dirty and imbecile people, it was also an affront on the self-respect of Devasahayam Pillai, because he himself was a Christian. The Servant of God was put to a lot of shame both in words and deeds. The manner in which he was seated on buffalo, garlanded with erukku flowers and was given just a small piece of cloth to tie around his waist was meant to bring shame on him before the large number of people who were accompanying the parade of shame. Secondly, because some Christians fled out of fear or some denied their faith, even though only out of fear, those who wanted to force Devasahayam Pillai to abjure his Christian faith laughed at Devasahayam Pillai on that account. One thing that hurt him most was that, during the tortures, his own wife abandoned faith for sometime though she repented and returned to faith soon. Thirdly, the journey on buffalo was a prolonged one, first for 16 days and then for several months. The ignominy of such a travel continued.
- Physical Tortures
A. The Narrowness of the Prison :
When he was arrested, Devasahayam Pillai was put in a narrow prison, as small as an oven: just 5 palms high, 1 cubit broad and a little more than 1 cubit long. The prison’s door was just 2 palms high. It would have been unimaginably hard to live in this cell to which he returned after he was first taken for execution, then after the 16-day first parade on buffalo and finally after the months-long parade throughout the Kingdom.
B. First condemnation to death and the revocation of the same :
The next day the king pronounced a death sentence on the Servant of God. The sentence made him happy that he had the grace of martyrdom. He was taken ceremonially to the place of execution. But the order was revoked by another order of the king, because some soothsayers had warned that great calamity would befall the kingdom if Devasahayam Pillai were to be put to death. The revoking of the sentence of death made the Servant of God sad, because he was thus robbed of the glory of dying for Christ.
He started to pray that he be more worthy of the gift of martyrdom. The soldiers were surprised to see that the Servant of God went happily when he was told that he was going to be killed but walked back sad when he was told that he had been spared.
C. Parading on foot and use of Chilly and Irritant Herbs as Instruments of Torture :
Adorned with a garland of eruku (carotropis gigantea), accompanied by beating of drums, Devasahayam was paraded on foot through the capital in a shameful manner for 16 days.
D. Parading on Buffalo :
Devasahayam was paraded on buffalo with hands tied behind and sitting backward. It was a shameful South Indian way of treatment meted out to persons to be punished. All along the way some people mocked at him and cursed him. Often he was beaten in public with tamarind stick and with thorny sticks in such a way as to tear open his flesh and powdered chilly was smeared over the wounds and all over the body. He was thus made to stand in the hot sun. The Servant of God bore all these sufferings with patience and joy.
E. Prolonged, Unsafe and Hard Journey on Buffalo :
F. Second sentence to death and its revoke :
The Christians were levied special taxes. Some Christians refused to pay them. Devasahayam was accused for it, that he had instigated their disobedience to king’s orders. Therefore there was a second sentence to death. The Servant of God was happy to hear about the sentence. But to his great disappointment, this sentence, too, was revoked.
G. Torture by Taluk Chiefs :
There was a custom in the Kingdom of Travancore of those times by which the prisoners were taken from one place to another, from one local official to another. Devasahayam too was paraded from place to place, especially through villages where there were some conversions to Catholic faith, as warning against future conversions. Wherever he was taken, the people gathered in great numbers to witness his great courage and joy in suffering. The tortures of beating, smearing chilly powder, etc. continued daily and the Servant of God was putting up with all these sufferings with great joy. This was indeed a great witness to the Christian faith.
At Puliyoorkurichy
The Servant of God was brought to a small place called Puliyoorkurichy where he was placed on a rock. He was overcome by thirst and being refused water to drink he prayed to God weeping, and hit the rock with his elbow, which gave forth water in a miraculous way he could drink.
This rock continues even today to give water and even now people visit this fountain in large numbers.
H. Imprisonment at Peruvilai :
From Puliyoorkurichy, they brought him to a place called Peruvilai where he was put under the custody of the executioner. During the seven-month torture there. The Bishop writes: For seven months he lay under a tree hugging the tree itself with his legs bound in chains and tied to the tree with fetters, so that he could not move about or stand up or recline on the side, but was forced to sit up or to lie down on the back.
The Servant of God spent long time in prayer and meditation. A lot of people came to meet him and to ask for his prayers. One of them was his own jailer, the executioner. The Jailer had no issue. He and his wife came to the Servant of God asking for his blessing and prayers. He spoke to them of trust in God and assured them that God would hear their prayer. Their prayer was eventually granted. This made the executioner very kind and sympathetic towards the Servant of God.
By the kindness of the soldiers, Devasahayam was able to meet some priests in the prison. One of them was Fr. Pimentel, S.J., the head of the Madurai Mission. Devasahayam shared with him the great joy he experienced in the grace of having to suffer for Christ. Fr. Thommaso de Fonseca, S.J., the parish priest of Kottar came to meet him at night and administered to him the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion.
The prison guards were so kind to Devasahayam Pillai that they offered him an opportunity to escape and even told him to avail himself of the opportunity to run away. The Servant of God consulted De Lannoy and Fr. Buttari. Both of them were of the opinion that it was cowardice to escape but a bravery to face death for one’s faith. Devasahayam was encouraged by their response and decided in prayerful discernment to face the challenge of death in joyful expectation.
To the people who came to meet him, Devasahayam spoke on the passion of Christ. He made one person from the coastal area read the Bible to him and to the people. Since hundreds of people started visiting Devasahayam daily at Peruvilai and the place of imprisonment was turning out into a place of prayer and meditation, the king was disappointed that the purpose of the tortures inflicted on Devasahayam was not only being defeated but on the contrary it gave Devasahayam more and more opportunity to bring more people to Christian faith, he ordered that he be taken to Aralvaimozhi and be shut up in prison there.
I. Foot Whipping, Beatings & Lashes :
Daily portion of 30 lashes was one of the tortures ordered by the persecutors. This is besides what he would receive without any sanction from authorities. The refusal to deny faith brought upon him the King’s command to be flogged with thorny scourges. While in prison, he was given 30 blows with canes each day. Once there were 35 wounds or scars on his body.
B. First condemnation to death and the revocation of the same :
He started to pray that he be more worthy of the gift of martyrdom. The soldiers were surprised to see that the Servant of God went happily when he was told that he was going to be killed but walked back sad when he was told that he had been spared.
C. Parading on foot and use of Chilly and Irritant Herbs as Instruments of Torture :
Adorned with a garland of eruku (carotropis gigantea), accompanied by beating of drums, Devasahayam was paraded on foot through the capital in a shameful manner for 16 days.
- The use of chilly, in the form of powder and paste, was used as an instrument of torture throughout the parade, first for 16 days and then for several months throughout the kingdom. This is what Buttari writes about it this torture:
- Every day they rubbed his face and the rest of his body with copious Pilaguastro, (Pepper or some other pungent herbs), ground to powder; then with a certain thorny scourge resembling a file, they tore his back and opened it with many wounds, and then applied as medicine the above mentioned pepper - powder, a horrible torture which is used in this land and causes a burning sensation like fire. Moreover they threw pepper in the fire and forced the poor patient with his face downwards to inhale the horrible fumes rising thence.” They put chilly powder in his eyes when he lifted his eyes in prayer.
D. Parading on Buffalo :
Devasahayam was paraded on buffalo with hands tied behind and sitting backward. It was a shameful South Indian way of treatment meted out to persons to be punished. All along the way some people mocked at him and cursed him. Often he was beaten in public with tamarind stick and with thorny sticks in such a way as to tear open his flesh and powdered chilly was smeared over the wounds and all over the body. He was thus made to stand in the hot sun. The Servant of God bore all these sufferings with patience and joy.
E. Prolonged, Unsafe and Hard Journey on Buffalo :
One can easily imagine how hard and unsafe it is to sit on the flat back of the buffalo. The Servant of God could not hold on to anything, since his hands were tied behind. The roughness of the terrain and the roads would have often caused his fall. Besides, “the buffalo, impatient of feeling a rider on its back, would shake him off and throw him to the ground.
F. Second sentence to death and its revoke :
The Christians were levied special taxes. Some Christians refused to pay them. Devasahayam was accused for it, that he had instigated their disobedience to king’s orders. Therefore there was a second sentence to death. The Servant of God was happy to hear about the sentence. But to his great disappointment, this sentence, too, was revoked.
G. Torture by Taluk Chiefs :
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| Taken from place to place and Questioned by the local Taluk chiefs |
At Puliyoorkurichy
This rock continues even today to give water and even now people visit this fountain in large numbers.
H. Imprisonment at Peruvilai :
The Servant of God tied up to a Neem tree
From Puliyoorkurichy, they brought him to a place called Peruvilai where he was put under the custody of the executioner. During the seven-month torture there. The Bishop writes: For seven months he lay under a tree hugging the tree itself with his legs bound in chains and tied to the tree with fetters, so that he could not move about or stand up or recline on the side, but was forced to sit up or to lie down on the back.
The Servant of God spent long time in prayer and meditation. A lot of people came to meet him and to ask for his prayers. One of them was his own jailer, the executioner. The Jailer had no issue. He and his wife came to the Servant of God asking for his blessing and prayers. He spoke to them of trust in God and assured them that God would hear their prayer. Their prayer was eventually granted. This made the executioner very kind and sympathetic towards the Servant of God.
By the kindness of the soldiers, Devasahayam was able to meet some priests in the prison. One of them was Fr. Pimentel, S.J., the head of the Madurai Mission. Devasahayam shared with him the great joy he experienced in the grace of having to suffer for Christ. Fr. Thommaso de Fonseca, S.J., the parish priest of Kottar came to meet him at night and administered to him the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion.
The prison guards were so kind to Devasahayam Pillai that they offered him an opportunity to escape and even told him to avail himself of the opportunity to run away. The Servant of God consulted De Lannoy and Fr. Buttari. Both of them were of the opinion that it was cowardice to escape but a bravery to face death for one’s faith. Devasahayam was encouraged by their response and decided in prayerful discernment to face the challenge of death in joyful expectation.
To the people who came to meet him, Devasahayam spoke on the passion of Christ. He made one person from the coastal area read the Bible to him and to the people. Since hundreds of people started visiting Devasahayam daily at Peruvilai and the place of imprisonment was turning out into a place of prayer and meditation, the king was disappointed that the purpose of the tortures inflicted on Devasahayam was not only being defeated but on the contrary it gave Devasahayam more and more opportunity to bring more people to Christian faith, he ordered that he be taken to Aralvaimozhi and be shut up in prison there.
I. Foot Whipping, Beatings & Lashes :
Daily portion of 30 lashes was one of the tortures ordered by the persecutors. This is besides what he would receive without any sanction from authorities. The refusal to deny faith brought upon him the King’s command to be flogged with thorny scourges. While in prison, he was given 30 blows with canes each day. Once there were 35 wounds or scars on his body.
J. Laceration of the Skin :
The laceration of the skin was done by means of “a certain thorny scourge resembling a file”, to make the application of the chilly powder or paste burn more. They also tormented his face.
J. Locked in Prison with suffocating chili powder :
Devasahayam was locked in a Prison cell with a few pots of boiling water kept around him with red hot chili power in it. So that he might suffocate and change his mind. But Devasahayam overcame this trail too.
K. Ants in the Prison :
At one of the County headquarters, he was thrown into a prison which was full of biting ants called kadierumbu ( Red ants).
L. Thrown with Poisonous snakes & scorpions :
He was thrown along with poisonous Snakes and scorpions. Miraculously he survived out from these creatures again.
Devasahayam Pillai passed 3 years in prison without bath and did not have any oils to apply to his body.
N. Thirst :
Thirst is one of the many ways in which Devasahayam Pillai was tortured on many occasions and in many places. Once, near the sea on the buffalo, Devasahayam was “burning with thirst”, but they gave him only the salty sea water (which became drinkable to him because of his prayer). The miraculous rock fountain at Puliyoorkurichy is a constant reminder of this kind of torture (and God’s grace of miraculous water from the rock). There when he asked for water they gave him sewage water.
O. Hunger :
Devasahayam Pillai was usually given only a small portion of cooked rice. Then even the small portion of rice usually given him was stopped, to make him die of hunger. This happened at Peruvilai.
P. Being Carried Like an Animal :
This happened just before he was killed, as they were proceeding to the place of execution: Realising that the chains around his feet constrained him from keeping up with their fast pace, the soldiers had him lie prostrate, and passing a stout pole through the chains binding his hands and feet, slung him thus on that pole and carried him to their destination. By the time they brought him to Kattadimalai in this fashion, the shackles had pressed into his arms and legs and he suffered from painful wounds because of this inhuman act.
# Devasahayam’s life during the year's of Torture :
Bishop Clement reports that every morning and night Devasahayam spent some time for contemplation of “heavenly things” Often during the day, too, he raised his mind to God and prayed briefly. He read aloud books of piety, especially the lives of saints, for the benefit of the bystanders, too. In addition to the fast prescribed by the church, the Servant of God fasted on all Fridays and Saturdays in homage to the dying Christ and to the Mother of God. Devasahayam was open and obedient to priests, especially to his Missionary, Fr. Buttari whom he would contact through messengers and letters. He carried out his directions and counsels very promptly. Only thrice a priest could visit him at the dead of night. He made his confession and received communion. The priest was happy to meet a “living martyr”. Devasahayam was glad to “confess his recurring sins with compunction and be finally refreshed and strengthened by the most holy Eucharist. Once a priest brought him communion secretly (during the day) and Devasahayam received it with great piety and devotion. He desired to receive these sacraments oftener, but it was not possible. Access to him was difficult for priests.
