Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/247

LEGEND OF GONDOPHARES AND ST. THOMAS 209 the saint and the merchant proceeded on their voyage, and came to the court of Gundaphar, King of India. St. Thomas promised to build him the palace within the space of six months, but expended the moneys given to him for that purpose in alms-giving, and, when called to account, explained that he was building for the king a 'palace in heaven, not made with hands. He preached with such zeal and grace that the king, his brother Gad, and multitudes of the people embraced the faith. Many signs and wonders were wrought by the holy apostle. " After a time, Sifur, the general of Bang Mazdai, arrived, and besought the apostle to come with him and heal his wife and daughter. St. Thomas hearkened to his prayer, and went with Sifur to the city of King Mazdai, riding in a chariot. He left his converts in the country of King Gundaphar, under the care of Deacon Xanthippos. King Mazdai waxed wroth when his queen Tertia and a noble lady named Mygdonia were converted by St. Thomas, who was accordingly sentenced to death and executed by four soldiers, who pierced him with spears on a mountain without the city. The apostle was buried in the sepulchre of the ancient kings; but the disciples secretly removed his bones, and carried them away to the West." Writers of later date, subsequent to the seventh century, profess to know the name of the city where the apostle suffered martyrdom, and call it variously Kalamina, Kalamita, Kalamena, or Karamena, and much ingenuity has been expended in futile attempts