Though
St. Thomas was so dear to the King mahadevan, he was
actually handled brutally more than once in his apartment
in the absence of the King. To save life, he was reported
to have sought refuge in the jungle of Little Mount
which is quite closer to Maylapore. A cave in the
Hillock afforded him an ideal shelter.
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Location
: Six
miles from Fort St. George, four Miles from South west of
Santhome-de-Meliyapore (Burial Place of St. Thomas), 80 Ft.
above sea level. Local
Name : Chinna Malai
(In Tamil)
I mportance : This is one of
the three places on the Coromandal coast actively associated
with the mission of St. Thomas.
LITTLE
MOUNT CAVE AND THE CIRCULAR CHURCH, Madras (Chennai), India
MASS
TIME
SUNDAYS
WEEKDAYS
6.00 A.M English
8.00 A.M Tamil
4.30 P.M Tamil
6.00
A.M English
6.30 P.M Tamil
VISITING
HOURS
Church
is open from 6.00 A.M to 8 P.M
What
to see here? The cave, Hand mark, Stone cross, Perpetual
spring, various Statues, Fastival
day: Fifth sunday after the Easter.
The story of excavations begins here...
[External
view of the Little
mount
Circular Church, India]
The
cave is about 16 ft in length and about 15 ft. in breadth and
not more than 7 ft. in height. A crevice about 5/2 ft. with two
or three crude steps opens down into the cave and makes a very
good hiding place.
St. Thomas Spring
St. Thomas Spring in little mount
There is a spring on the rock behind the Church, called the
perpetual spring of the saint. It is traditionally held, recorded
only in 1765 AD by Fr. G. Tachard S.J "people who come
in crowds to hear him preaching suffered much from thirst.
The sain knelt down in prayer and struck the rock with his
stick, and there formed an instant spring to quench the thirst
of people."
[Innerview
of the Little mount Cave]
On south, almost opposite to the entrance, a sort of window(2.5
ft long) throws a dim light in to the cave, which can be an
emergency door.
Amazingly, the clear impress of his fingers which seem natural
formations on the roof and the finger prints suggest a a human
figure of 6-7 ft in height. The floor gently slopes towards
an alter at the extreme end and now the modern statues and
inscriptions are on it.
Archeological
Details: About the year 1551, Little Mount began to be leveled
and cleared for the convenience of pilgrims. The Portuguese built
the old Church of Our Lady of Health adjoining the cave. Behind
this church, there on level ground, a rough cross chiseled on
stone where St. Thomas is said to have offered mass and spent long
hours in prayer and meditation. There are many stories and legends
concerned to the cave, and a perennial Spring of St. Thomas which
is enclosed are recorded by Fr. Tachard of 14th century.
[ Entrance to the cave of Little mount. Climping the steps,
pilgrims can reach the statue of Our Lady of Health.]
[Another
view of the Little mount Cave]
Except
for erecting a small altar, the cave is preserved in it's
original form. On the right side top, a sort of window
can be seen. It is believed to be miraculasly made through
which St. Thomas escaped from the approaching enimies through
the opening of the cave.
Tail
News: Little Mount seems to be invested now with an
air of artificiality. Great care, however, appears to have been
taken not to tamper with the things intimately related to St. Thomas. Hoary and holy monuments impel visitors as it were, to
piety and recollection. For the annual feast of the 4th Sunday
after Easter, pilgrims from all over the neigbour lands, both
Christians and non-Christians flock to this place by thousands
year after year.
