Ahalya

Indian mythology · heroine · betrayal, stone, redemption

Wife of the sage Gautama, deceived by Indra in her husband's form and cursed to become invisible, in later tellings, a stone, until the touch of Rama's foot released her. Every era has retold her story to argue about her innocence.

Stories

Ahalya's Release

Indra comes to Ahalya wearing her husband's form, and Gautama's curse falls on them both: shame without end for the god, stone stillness for the woman. Ages later Vishvamitra leads young Rama to the silent hermitage, and at the touch of his foot Ahalya rises, released and restored.