Ahalya, sometimes spelt Ahilya, is the sage Gautama Maharishi’s wife. Many Hindu texts narrate her story of being seduced by God Indra, her husband cursing her for cheating, and the god Rama freeing her from the curse.
Ahilya is one of the Pancha Kanya.
Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful woman, Ahalya was married to the much older Gautama.
In the earliest full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahilya sees through his disguise but accepts his advances.
Later sources often absolve her of all guilt, describing how she falls prey to Indra’s trickery.
In all narratives, Ahalya and Indra are cursed by Gautama. The curse varies from text to text, but almost all versions describe Rama as the eventual agent of her liberation and redemption. Although early texts describe how Ahalya must atone by undergoing severe penance while remaining invisible to the world and how she is purified by offering Rama hospitality, in the popular retelling developed over time, Ahalya is cursed to become a stone and regains her human form after she is brushed by Rama’s foot.
