Ahalya
mythological figure · 2 works · 4 mentions · 7 anchored passages
Ahalyā · illustrious Ahalyā
in the texts
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
Wife of the sage Gautama, seduced by Indra in disguise, cursed to invisibility, and eventually purified and reunited with her husband through Rāma's visit.
Having thus cursed Indra, he also cursed his wife:
"When Rāma, the invincible son of Daśaratha, comes to this dreadful forest, then you shall be purified.
And Rāma, having duly received the highest honor from the great sage Gautama, then departed for Mithilā.
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana
Figure whose violated chastity by Indra is cited as a cautionary exemplum.
Indra, too, having violated the chastity of Ahalya, was made to suffer for it.
" If the woman listens with a favourable ear, then on the following day the go-between, having observed marks of good spirits in her face, in her eyes, and in her manner of conversation, should again converse with her on the subject of the man, and should tell her the stories of Ahalya and Indra, of Sakoontala and Dushyanti, and such others as may be fitted for the occasion.