Sacrilege, Sin, Stone and Salvation: Why the fate of Ahalya left behind an enigma

Northrop Fry in one for his essays about Archetypal Criticism writes that:

"In the world of myth... The gods enjoy beautiful women, fight one another with prodigious strength, comfort and assist man, or else watch his miseries from the height of the immortal freedom". (Fry, 1971)

       The sheer volume of Indian myths and texts lead us to many heroic and noble characters that are described as "ideal" beings. Most of them praise the heroism of a Kind or a divine incarnation. Some accuse it just to be testosterone driven plots. While men kill and ambush kingdoms, many female figures are forced to only become symbols of chastity, purity and dedication to male figures. They are represented as an obedient daughter and an obedient wife. But what about characters that transgressed or got accused of transgression?  Indian mythology and culture were never kind to female characters who were accused of adultery and infidelity. Most female characters accepted the punishment bestowed upon them by the patriarchal society without even raising a finger. Such characters were then later used by other modes of narratives to warn the female population about the doom one would have to face if one decides to move against the existing social norms. It doesn't matter what social class you belong to. Even Sita couldn't escape the accusations. The recent heated debate about the innocence of Ahalya started after the release of the critically acclaimed Bengali short film by Sujoy Ghosh titled "Ahalya" on 20th of July 2015 on YouTube. The movie took a modern and different view on the story of Ahalya which punished only Indra for the sin. The plot of the short film is as follows:

A young policeman Indra Sen comes to the home of a famous ageing artist Goutam Sadhu investigating a case of a missing man Arjun. There he is greeted by his young and beautiful wife Ahalya. The missing man's doll-version is placed on the mantelpiece, along with four other dolls, who Sadhu tells him had been modelling for himself. A stone is also placed there in a glass case. Sadhu tells the policeman that the stone has magical qualities and that anybody who touches it turns into whosoever he or she wishes to. He tells the policeman that Arjun knew about it and suggests that he might have used it. The policeman does not believe him initially but agrees to try it when the old man dares him to. He goes up to hand his mobile over to Ahalya, who addresses him seductively as her husband. She asks him to shoo away the policeman and come back to her. He plays along with her only to find himself cast in stone like other dolls placed on the same mantelpiece.  (Wikipedia )

The movie invited a huge response from various media platforms and garnered appreciation from the mass. The movie review posted on firstpost.com says that

"His (Sujoy Ghosh's) take on Gautama is more interesting since the Maharishi is turned into someone who almost preys on youthful masculinity. Ahalya, on the other hand, is at best her husband’s sidekick. She’s someone who willingly reduces herself to a sex object and that too, seemingly at her husband’s direction. Perhaps the men that Goutam Sadhu sends up to his wife are feeding her sexual appetite. Goutam Sadhu definitely appears to be the alpha in their relationship – but even in that scenario, Ahalya is reduced to a body. It’s evident from the way Ghosh’s Ahalya dresses and moves that she’s titillating the men (and the viewers), but subtly. The brush of skin seems accidental, but isn’t. The clothes seem casual, but are studiously seductive. Ghosh seems to suggest it isn’t Indra’s fault if he’s turned on by this Ahalya. She’s goading him, with every look and every gesture. How can any man resist that much bare skin, that figure, the invitation in her eyes, is the unspoken question in the short film. Not just that, by trapping Indra in one of Goutam Sadhu’s dolls at the end, Ghosh ensures that all our sympathy is for this poor man who, thanks to eyeballing a scantily-clad woman who was flirting with him, has suffered a horrible fate. Ahalya is the sexual predator in disguise." (Pal, Deepanjana)

This was a particularly different review which stood apart from others since it enhanced the evil nature of Ahalya. The argument was substantiated by the attire of the movie characters. All the characters are at first dressed in white, including the police officer as the story's is set in Kolkata. After the fate of Indra gets revealed, the characters switch to attires of a dark tone. Most viewed the short film from a feminist perspective that granted Ahalya justice and punished the trickster. They appreciated the radiance of female power in the narration. Ahalya of the movie is indeed portrayed as beautiful and sensuous. Indra first mistakes her to be the artist's daughter. The sin of Indra is cemented when he realised that he looks like the old man, he still decided to approach Ahalya thus revealing his inner desires. The movie ends with the introduction of a new character approaching the artist which one can term to be a new "predator" or "prey" and Ahalya still thriving as a happy and satisfied wife with a supportive husband. On platforms like Quora, the discussion escalated to a point where one member remarked that the director was depicting Ahalya as a sexual predator that lured Indra with her beauty. One remarked that Gautama preyed on youthfulness of his prey (Indra) and used it to satisfy his wife. Another user remarked that since this was Kaliyug and no Ram would incarnate to grant her salvation, she can't be punished for her sins. Many media portrayed the new take as a feminist narrative that reversed the original plot by signifying Ahalya as the victim. The director Sujoy Ghosh remarked in an interview that he always felt bad for Ahalya and that Ramayana and other narratives had been unfair to her. He says "I find Hindu mythology exciting because the gods are like humans, they behave like humans yet they have the ability to do super heroic things." (Ghosh). When asked as to why he chose the character Ahalya he says:" Her story has everything I needed in order to show a decaying society — greed, lust and power. The story also has a moral. In the end, it raises certain questions".

       The story of Ahalya has survived centuries getting subjected to various interpolations and interpretations. Ahalya, created by Lord Brahma as the most beautiful woman and the wife of Gautama Maharishi gets seduced by Indra disguised in the form of her husband. When Gautama finds out that his wife has been "polluted" with the seeds of another man. He curses her to become a stone for 60,000 years. He proclaims that she shall gain salvation only when the feet of Ram touch her. The basic structure of the plot remains the same. But there are several additions and subtractions in various narratives regarding this plot. In Kamban's 12th-century Tamil adaptation of the Ramayana, the Ramavataram and Venkata Krishnappa Nayaka's Telugu rendition they portray Ahalya as a woman who is vain and who purposefully cheats on her husband. Even Bala Kanda of the Ramayana depicts Ahalya as a conscious adulteress.

       The Uttar Kanda, which is clearly a later addition to the work, describes that she was violated by Indra. She is innocent in this narrative and still gets punished for it. This version gained more popularity.

       The narratives differ also in details about punishments received by Indra and Ahalya.

"In the Brahma Purana, Ahalya is cursed to become a dried up stream, but pleads her innocence and produces servants, who were also deceived by Indra's disguise, as witnesses. Gautama reduces the curse on his "faithful wife" and she is redeemed when she joins the Gautami (Godavari) river as a stream. Indra is cursed to carry his shame in the form of a thousand vulvae on his body, but the vulvae turn into eyes as he bathes in the Gautami. The Brahma Purana is a rare exception where Rama is dropped from the narrative. Instead, the greatness of the Gautami River is illustrated." (Wikipedia)

In Brahma Vaivarta Purana too Indra turns his curse into a blessing by praying to sun god Surya that turns vulvae into eyes that enabled Indra to watch the world more efficiently. Deepanjana Pal in the review for Ahalya short film on firstpost.com accuses that "This curse is eventually turned into something arguably more useful for the leader of the devas: the vulvas turn into eyes, allowing him to somewhat literally keen an eye on everything. Or at least 1,000 things. (And just like that, in an astoundingly prescient transition that is richly prophetic, Indra goes from sex-obsessed to potentially creepy voyeur.)" (Pal, Deepanjana) In Padma Purana, Ahalya is cursed to become a dried up skeletal structure that can only regain the former form when she atones to Ram for her sins. The popular version describes the curse as instances where Ahalya was turned into a stone and Indra getting castrated when he tries to escape as a cat. Many disagree with the punishment bestowed upon Ahalya since she was innocent.

       What ensured the existence of Ahalya's story? Some scholars suggest that it was purposefully woven into the narrative of Ramayana, to show the power of the central character and his grace. Some interpretations suggest that Ahalya escaped from her curse when dust from Ram's feet touched her petrified form. Even the word 'Ahalya' means being related to the plough or ploughing. Some interpret it as unploughed, something pure and virginal. Rabindranath Tagore interpreted this meaning to the unfertile, stone like existence of Ahalya till she met Ram. The Uttar Kanda defines the word as one without reprehension of ugliness. The symbol of Ahalya acts as a reminder to Indian women when they enter into marital life. Since she wasn't born out of a woman and was created by Brahma, she represents something divine and extraordinary.  A Sanskrit sloka's (a morning prayer that mentions Ahalya) transliteration reads:

" ahalyā draupadī sītā tārā mandodarī tathā ।

pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīḥ ॥" (Wikipedia)

It suggests the divine aspect of Ahalya along with four other revered chaste women to dispel sins. The supposed prayer sung by Hindu wives following old traditions, is said to dispel sins committed. What makes Ahalya a part of this "chaste" group? Though Ahalya was punished for infidelity, she believed that she was tricked by Indra to do it. That still makes her a faithful wife to her husband. Also, when she was cursed she accepted it whole heartedly without any resistance. During marriage ceremonies of Hindu Tamil brides, Ahalya is symbolised as a black grinding stone which the bride is made to touch with her feet suggesting that she shall never commit the crime of Ahalya.

       While the popular interpretation deems Ahalya healthy, many scholars see her as the symbol of liberation. One scholar that rests of this conclusion is Bhattacharya, author of Panch-Kanya: Woman of Substance. According to his paper, Ahalya is an independent woman who took decisions what she thought was right at the time. She never complained about the unsatisfactory life Gautama provided her at the ashram in a jungle.  He expresses his issue with the Morning Prayer stating that "Are then Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, and Mandodari not chaste wives because each has 'known' a man, or more than one, other than her husband?" (Bhattacharya). This is a very valid question since Indian culture has sometimes omitted at many female characters to be noble figures. Ahalya was still punished even though innocent, for succumbing to carnal desires quickly.  The carnal desire of man is overlooked when Gautama tried to win the hands of Ahalya from Lord Brahma though she was her student first. It poses a question as to whether Gautama wanted to marry Ahalya after seeing her beauty rather than seeing her as an intelligent student.

"Meena Kelkar, author of Subordination of Woman: a New Perspective feels that Ahalya was made venerable due to her acceptance of gender norms; she ungrudgingly accepted the curse while acknowledging her need for punishment. However, Kelkar adds that another reason for making Ahalya immortal in scripture could be that her punishment acts as a warning and deterrent to women" (Pal, Deepanjana)

Ahalya is symbolised as the "fallen woman". It's the injustice done to her character that prompts many contemporary artists to portray her as the victim of patriarchy.

" The right-wing Hindu women's organisation Rashtra Sevika Samiti considers Ahalya the symbol of "Hindu woman's (and Hindu society's) rape by the outsider", especially British colonisers and Muslim invaders, but also Hindu men.[103] The feminist writer Tarabai Shinde (1850–1910) writes that the scriptures, by depicting gods such as Indra who exploit chaste wives such as Ahalya, are responsible for promoting immoral ways; she asks why so much importance is then given to pativrata dharma, the devotion and fidelity to the husband which is said to be the ultimate duty of a wife." (Pal, Deepanjana)

During divine seduction scenes in Greek mythologies, the female figure is not punished for her "sin". A major example would be Alcmene, mother of Heracles who was tricked and seduced by Zeus. While some agrees some refute this argument by stating that Heracles needed divine parentage and that Ahalya just acted out of carnal desires thus taking away positive consequences of the action.        In Conclusion, one can infer that while lauded as the archetype of female chastity, her salvation was ensured only the touch of Ram's "feet". The very requirement further affirms the suppression of the female figure that can only get blessings through not Ram's hand but his feet. One must remember that Ram, defined as the perfect man questioned the chastity of his wife Sita too. Sita also had a similar fate, though she was more innocent that Ahalya. Sita was also found by her step- father by ploughing the field. Sita too attracted the attention of Ravana that led to her kidnapping. Both had to spend the youth in a forest and were also abandoned by their husbands in the forest for their "sin". Both are tricked by disguises, where Ravana and Indra took the disguise of an old man. Both crosses the line, one literally ad other figuratively which incites their doom. Both have to undergo the test of purity, one by feet and other by fire. Ram that ensured Ahalya's innocence couldn't save his wife from the same fate. Both Gautama and Ram have trust issues. This substantiates the argument that the social position of a woman is ignored when issue of chastity crops up. The physical purity trumps the mental purity.

Bibliography

·        Bhattacharya, Pradip. "Panchkanya: Woman of Substance." Journal of South Asian Literature (2000): 13- 56.

·        Fry, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism :Four essays. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1971.

·        Ghosh, Sujoy. Mythology is magical, that’s what cinema is all about, says writer-director Sujoy Ghosh Sankayan Ghosh. 23 July 2015.

·        Pal, Deepanjana. First Post. 2015 July 21. 25 November 2015 <http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/seen-sujoy-ghoshs-ahalya-heres-myth-sex-infidelity-inspired-film-2358486.html>.

·        Wikipedia . Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia. 25 February 2015. 25 November 2015 <http://www.wikipedia.com/ahalya2015>.

·        Wikipedia. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 28 December 2014. 26 November 2015 <http://www.wikipedia.com/ahalya>.