CHAPTER 7 - Martyrdom at Mylapore

Summary

Of the twelve apostles of Jesus, churches have been built over the tombs of only three of them – the Basilica over the tomb of Peter at the Vatican, the Cathedral of Santiago over the tomb of James in Spain and the Santhome over the tomb of Thomas in Mylapore, a suburb of Madras. Madras, renamed Chennai, during a bout of exuberant regional pride, is the capital of Tamil Nadu. A city of more than seven million people, it is India's fourth largest metropolis and a rising star in the global information and communications industry. It is in the most Dravidian of the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. Dravidian culture originates from the south of India and in relative terms, it was subject to less foreign influence than Indian culture in the north.

The Mauryan Empire had initiated an era of international trade and economic growth in India that continued for several centuries after the collapse of the empire. Along these international trade routes, a new religion, Christianity, was brought to India by Thomas, one of the original twelve apostles. After preaching for twenty years, Thomas was killed in 72 CE at a hillock in Mylapore. The hillock is now named after him – Saint Thomas Mount. His body was buried a short distance away and the gothic church, Santhome, was built over the tomb.

When Asoka died in 232 BCE after ruling for thirtyseven years, his grandsons divided the empire. Through a succession of weak kings, the Mauryan Empire began its journey of decline. In 180 BCE, the last Mauryan king was assassinated during a military parade by his Brahmin commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Shunga. Although Pushyamitra managed to stop the advance of the Bactrians and stabilized the borders of the empire to the Gangetic plain, his persecution of the Buddhist community within his empire weakened its internal cohesion. After several Shunga kings on the throne at Pataliputra, the empire or what was left of it had shrunk to an area smaller than the original Magadhan state. The last Shunga king, a man overly fond of women, was in his turn assassinated by the daughter of his concubine at the behest of his Brahmin minister, Kanva. The decline continued under several Kanva kings and the Magadhan kingdom disappeared into oblivion in 28 BCE.