AustLit

Author's note: This poem was written after visiting Ahalyasthan and Gautam Kund, 25 kms North of Darbhanga Town in North Bihar, during the religious festival of Dusshera 2012. Ahalyasthan is a place that has significance in Hinduism, because of the story of the sage Rishi Gautam and his wife Ahalya. The story states that while Gautam was away, Indra – the god of rain and the heavens – seduced Ahalya and had intercourse with her. Gautam later caught them in the act, which led him to curse both of them. As a result Indra’s penis fell off and Ahalya was turned to stone, until the seventh avatar of the supreme deity Vishnu -Ram- released her from her curse. Ahalya was then redeemed and reunited with her husband.