Ahalyā, the Human Face of Sacred Infidelity

Definition

An ancient Hindu legend of illicit sexuality, penance, and redemption.

Origins

The legend of Ahalyā originated in the brāhmanas and continued in the purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, and the Kathāsaritsāgara, as noted by Renate Söhnen-Thieme ([8], pp. 39–62), but is best known as part of the Rāmāyaṇa. Her story appears in Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa (the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa or VR), in both the Bālakāṇḍa and the Uttarakāṇḍa [10], in other Rāmāyaṇas, and in numerous modern literary works, of which a partial overview is given by Sisir Kumar Das ([3], pp. 133–135). It also runs parallel to a widespread Indo-European narrative tradition of adultery between a woman and a god, as demonstrated by Wendy Doniger ([4], pp. 88–128). Surprisingly for a woman who is tainted by adultery, whether deliberate or not, Ahalyā is memorialized as one of the five revered women of Indian hagiography. The key to this seeming contradiction is that Ahalyā’s legend is as essential to emphasize the redemptive power of...