Ahilya uddhar and gender discrimination
It is a fact that women have been discriminated against for centuries, in all parts of the world. The world history can be seen as a fight against this discrimination.
There was a time when women in India truly enjoyed the same rights as that of men. We had so many women philosophers. In fact we are unique in the way that we worship so many Goddesses and even see our country as mother. There are so many instances in our mythology when all gods failed to win over the demons and they had to invoke a female in order to save the world.
Even our prayers start with mentioning the feminine and the motherhood:
There was a time when women in India truly enjoyed the same rights as that of men. We had so many women philosophers. In fact we are unique in the way that we worship so many Goddesses and even see our country as mother. There are so many instances in our mythology when all gods failed to win over the demons and they had to invoke a female in order to save the world.
Even our prayers start with mentioning the feminine and the motherhood:
Twameva mata cha pita twameva
Twameva bandhushcha sakha twameva
Twameva vidya dravinam twameva
Twameva sarvam mama deva deva
You alone are my mother and my father,
You alone are my friend and my beloved companion,
You alone are my knowledge and my wealth,
O Supreme Lord, you alone are everything for me.
Voices for women’s rights
Fortunately or unfortunately, today we have so many saviors of women rights. They would cite examples from the mythology and our history, to prove that we had always been discriminating against women. Nothing wrong with them, but we should take care if they are fulfilling their own agenda while provoking our insecurities. Many a time, the people who accuse others of a bias are themselves biased. And they think that a reverse-discrimination is not called discrimination. We have now women chauvinists who are fighting against male chauvinism. I don’t know if we gain anything from increasing the sense of mistrust between the genders. Hatred can’t be won over by hatred and similarly discrimination can’t be destroyed if we are our self biased – if we see the whole world through our tainted glasses.
The story of Ahilya from the times of Ramayana is often cited as an example of how women were discriminated against even in those times (Sat Yuga). They would comfortably forget that it was the time when a Prince and his family would suffer and a King would die – just to keep a promise to a woman – a stop mother and one of the four wives. It was the time when princess Sita could arrange a swayamvar (groom choosing) where Princes and Kings competed with each other to win the right to marry her. A lot depends on the way we look at the things, but we can’t allow anyone to tell half-baked stories to make a point.
The story of Ahilya
Ahilya was the wife of sage Gautama. Both lived happily in his ashram spending their days in peace and holy meditation. Indra, the king of natural forces, had lecherous dreams about her. Once sun and moon assisted Indra in confusing Gautam that it was morning while it was actually night. While Gautam was away for morning ablutions, Indra, disguised as Gautam, approached Ahilya and proposed his desires in front of her. Perhaps she was deceived by the impersonation and yielded to his desire.
Indra was fleeing in guilty panic, when he bumped into the rishi who was just returning from his ablutions. The sage immediately guessed as to what had happened. The sage was very angry and he cursed Indra that he would loose his manhood immediately, as a punishment for the sin he had committed. As soon as the rishi spoke these words, Indra became a eunuch.
Then the sage turned to his wife and he cursed Ahilya to become a stone for an indefinite period of time. He then added that she would be turned to a woman when the son of Dashrath would touch her statue with his foot. The sage then left his ashram for Himalayas.
Ahilya Uddhar
Rama and Lakshman were staying in the forest under the tutelage of Vishwamitra, who taught them the Vedas and other scriptures. One day Vishwamitra received an invitation from King Janak, ruler of Janakpur (Mithila), to attend the Swayamvar ceremony of his daughter Sita. Kings, princes and sages from all over were invited to attend the ceremony to win the hand of the beautiful princess. Vishwamitra asked Rama and Lakshman to accompany him, and so the three set out for Janakpur.
On the way to Janakpur they passed by a deserted cottage besides which lay the stone statue of Ahilya. Rama then touched the stone statue with his foot and released Ahilya from her curse, turning her into a woman again.
Ahilya thanked him and offered her prayers. She got patient with her emotions, understood the presence of Lord, and attained devotion by the grace of the Lord of Raghu. She said, "That sage cursed me and turned me into a stone, I consider that as my fortune and beneficial for I got to see Hari, the destroyer of the cycle of rebirth, in front of my eyes." She fell on His feet and became liberated from this world.
Who is Indra?
Many of us don't even know that Indra is a position and it doesn't refer to a permanent god. Indra is the god of war and weather, and also the King of the gods or Devas. Indra's position is temporary, based on his conduct, karma and punya. One Indra leaves and another replaces him, and there have been many Indras. It is a perfect system: if another devta does greater tapas than the reigning Indra, he would occupy his position. And if Indra corrupts himself by doing wrong things, he would certainly come down from his position.
Where else would you find such a beautiful system: even devtas not being spared of wrongdoings? If we humans do good, we can become a devta, and if a devta does maintain himself, he can become the Indra. No one is "100% perfect" and whenever Indra proves him unworthy of his position, he is brought down and another Indra takes over. And not to forget that Indra is also subject to the curses of Rishis.
The doubts
The main accusation made in Ahilya’s case is that she was mistreated by her husband and the society only because she was a woman. Let us see it if this was the case.
1. It is only natural for a husband to get angry when he finds that his wife has cheated him. What he does in the fit of rage is only up to him, though he should be responsible for the actions. The same is true about women too. Hence when Gautam became furious of having found another person with his wife, his anger is understandable. That he had the spiritual powers to curse others, resulted in the destruction. In the fit of rage he forgot to see that his wife was fooled by Indra, but in such cases there is always a sense of mistrust and suspicion.
2. That was Sat yuga, the time when women also had great spiritual powers. Even then, if Ahilya was fooled into believing that the man having returned so early after leaving for a bath in the river was her husband and no one else, her mistake was human. She didn’t necessarily deserve the curse. (In some versions of the story, it is mentioned that Ahilya had recognized the disguised Indra, but she gave in because of her pride in her beauty and her lust. We will not base our arguments on this.)
3. Gautam can’t be called a hypocrite. He himself had led a righteous life. He was loyal to his wife too and in turn he expected the same. Nothing is wrong with this expectation.
4. After cursing Indra and turning his wife into a stone, rishi Gautam left the ashram forever and went to the Himalayas for tapasya. In case he had remarried, it would have been a very different case. He himself sacrificed too and never left the righteous path.
5. Even though Gautam cursed Ahilya and turned her into stone, he did leave a way out for her – that when son of Dashrath would come and touch her, she would become human again. There was a possibility for her liberation.
6. Most importantly – Gautam didn’t spare Indra of his crime. He cursed him to lose his manhood and that was a real curse. Afterwards, Indra did a lot of tapa to get his manhood back by seeking blessings of Lord Brahma. To say he was spared and he was not punished is wrong. Many a time people tell only half of the story to make their point, and this is horribly wrong. This episode about Gautam punishing Indra is there in all the versions of the story, but some of us conveniently forget it.
What happened in this case is understandable. There is no attempt to blindly justify what sage Gautam did, but we certainly understand the circumstances in which he did that. And he didn’t pick up only his wife for punishment, but he equally or harshly punished Indra. Therefore, to used this case to make a point only to prove that women were discriminated against is not correct.
More thoughts
Many a time, the way things are designed by our God, is not known to us. There is a catch, and many of us often miss it only to get baffled by the way things happen.
Think how difficult it is for us to see God Himself. How many rebirths we have to take, how much tapasya and devotion we have to offer in order to please Him to bless us? While on the way to our spiritual path, anyone can say that we are stupid. Only our efforts matter and God does bless us when we deserve what we ask for.
Ahilya got Lord Ram himself to touch her and make us leave this world of suffering. She attained liberation at the feet or Lord Ram himself – something for which at least I am able to remain a stone for a billion ages. If we see from this angle, we understand the divine leela that Ram plays with us.
Many a time, God tests us. Why do bad things happen with good people? Why do some great souls have to suffer so much of harsh life? Why, even after leading a righteous life, one has to suffer a misfortune? There is always a catch. One, who remains good even in adverse conditions, is the real good. Bad times and seemingly wrong doings are occurred to us to test the real us and our faith.
It is so clear that Ahilya was selected by God and was made to pass a test. And eventually she was rewarded with the ultimate one. When she saw Lord Ram in front of her, she didn’t ask him to punish her husband. She was overwhelmed with joy and thanked her fortune of going through the tough times, so that she could be saved by Lord Ram Himself.
If she didn’t have any complains, why should our women rights activists fight endless battles for her? Are not they using her? I don’t see this as a case of gender-discrimination for the reasons I shared. I see hers as a case which proves how difficult the path to reach Him is. And how there are divine designs which we don’t easily understand by taking them at their face values.
(Rahul)
Twameva bandhushcha sakha twameva
Twameva vidya dravinam twameva
Twameva sarvam mama deva deva
You alone are my mother and my father,
You alone are my friend and my beloved companion,
You alone are my knowledge and my wealth,
O Supreme Lord, you alone are everything for me.
Voices for women’s rights
Fortunately or unfortunately, today we have so many saviors of women rights. They would cite examples from the mythology and our history, to prove that we had always been discriminating against women. Nothing wrong with them, but we should take care if they are fulfilling their own agenda while provoking our insecurities. Many a time, the people who accuse others of a bias are themselves biased. And they think that a reverse-discrimination is not called discrimination. We have now women chauvinists who are fighting against male chauvinism. I don’t know if we gain anything from increasing the sense of mistrust between the genders. Hatred can’t be won over by hatred and similarly discrimination can’t be destroyed if we are our self biased – if we see the whole world through our tainted glasses.
The story of Ahilya from the times of Ramayana is often cited as an example of how women were discriminated against even in those times (Sat Yuga). They would comfortably forget that it was the time when a Prince and his family would suffer and a King would die – just to keep a promise to a woman – a stop mother and one of the four wives. It was the time when princess Sita could arrange a swayamvar (groom choosing) where Princes and Kings competed with each other to win the right to marry her. A lot depends on the way we look at the things, but we can’t allow anyone to tell half-baked stories to make a point.
The story of Ahilya
Ahilya was the wife of sage Gautama. Both lived happily in his ashram spending their days in peace and holy meditation. Indra, the king of natural forces, had lecherous dreams about her. Once sun and moon assisted Indra in confusing Gautam that it was morning while it was actually night. While Gautam was away for morning ablutions, Indra, disguised as Gautam, approached Ahilya and proposed his desires in front of her. Perhaps she was deceived by the impersonation and yielded to his desire.
Indra was fleeing in guilty panic, when he bumped into the rishi who was just returning from his ablutions. The sage immediately guessed as to what had happened. The sage was very angry and he cursed Indra that he would loose his manhood immediately, as a punishment for the sin he had committed. As soon as the rishi spoke these words, Indra became a eunuch.
Then the sage turned to his wife and he cursed Ahilya to become a stone for an indefinite period of time. He then added that she would be turned to a woman when the son of Dashrath would touch her statue with his foot. The sage then left his ashram for Himalayas.
Ahilya Uddhar
Rama and Lakshman were staying in the forest under the tutelage of Vishwamitra, who taught them the Vedas and other scriptures. One day Vishwamitra received an invitation from King Janak, ruler of Janakpur (Mithila), to attend the Swayamvar ceremony of his daughter Sita. Kings, princes and sages from all over were invited to attend the ceremony to win the hand of the beautiful princess. Vishwamitra asked Rama and Lakshman to accompany him, and so the three set out for Janakpur.
On the way to Janakpur they passed by a deserted cottage besides which lay the stone statue of Ahilya. Rama then touched the stone statue with his foot and released Ahilya from her curse, turning her into a woman again.
Ahilya thanked him and offered her prayers. She got patient with her emotions, understood the presence of Lord, and attained devotion by the grace of the Lord of Raghu. She said, "That sage cursed me and turned me into a stone, I consider that as my fortune and beneficial for I got to see Hari, the destroyer of the cycle of rebirth, in front of my eyes." She fell on His feet and became liberated from this world.
Who is Indra?
Many of us don't even know that Indra is a position and it doesn't refer to a permanent god. Indra is the god of war and weather, and also the King of the gods or Devas. Indra's position is temporary, based on his conduct, karma and punya. One Indra leaves and another replaces him, and there have been many Indras. It is a perfect system: if another devta does greater tapas than the reigning Indra, he would occupy his position. And if Indra corrupts himself by doing wrong things, he would certainly come down from his position.
Where else would you find such a beautiful system: even devtas not being spared of wrongdoings? If we humans do good, we can become a devta, and if a devta does maintain himself, he can become the Indra. No one is "100% perfect" and whenever Indra proves him unworthy of his position, he is brought down and another Indra takes over. And not to forget that Indra is also subject to the curses of Rishis.
The doubts
The main accusation made in Ahilya’s case is that she was mistreated by her husband and the society only because she was a woman. Let us see it if this was the case.
1. It is only natural for a husband to get angry when he finds that his wife has cheated him. What he does in the fit of rage is only up to him, though he should be responsible for the actions. The same is true about women too. Hence when Gautam became furious of having found another person with his wife, his anger is understandable. That he had the spiritual powers to curse others, resulted in the destruction. In the fit of rage he forgot to see that his wife was fooled by Indra, but in such cases there is always a sense of mistrust and suspicion.
2. That was Sat yuga, the time when women also had great spiritual powers. Even then, if Ahilya was fooled into believing that the man having returned so early after leaving for a bath in the river was her husband and no one else, her mistake was human. She didn’t necessarily deserve the curse. (In some versions of the story, it is mentioned that Ahilya had recognized the disguised Indra, but she gave in because of her pride in her beauty and her lust. We will not base our arguments on this.)
3. Gautam can’t be called a hypocrite. He himself had led a righteous life. He was loyal to his wife too and in turn he expected the same. Nothing is wrong with this expectation.
4. After cursing Indra and turning his wife into a stone, rishi Gautam left the ashram forever and went to the Himalayas for tapasya. In case he had remarried, it would have been a very different case. He himself sacrificed too and never left the righteous path.
5. Even though Gautam cursed Ahilya and turned her into stone, he did leave a way out for her – that when son of Dashrath would come and touch her, she would become human again. There was a possibility for her liberation.
6. Most importantly – Gautam didn’t spare Indra of his crime. He cursed him to lose his manhood and that was a real curse. Afterwards, Indra did a lot of tapa to get his manhood back by seeking blessings of Lord Brahma. To say he was spared and he was not punished is wrong. Many a time people tell only half of the story to make their point, and this is horribly wrong. This episode about Gautam punishing Indra is there in all the versions of the story, but some of us conveniently forget it.
What happened in this case is understandable. There is no attempt to blindly justify what sage Gautam did, but we certainly understand the circumstances in which he did that. And he didn’t pick up only his wife for punishment, but he equally or harshly punished Indra. Therefore, to used this case to make a point only to prove that women were discriminated against is not correct.
More thoughts
Many a time, the way things are designed by our God, is not known to us. There is a catch, and many of us often miss it only to get baffled by the way things happen.
Think how difficult it is for us to see God Himself. How many rebirths we have to take, how much tapasya and devotion we have to offer in order to please Him to bless us? While on the way to our spiritual path, anyone can say that we are stupid. Only our efforts matter and God does bless us when we deserve what we ask for.
Ahilya got Lord Ram himself to touch her and make us leave this world of suffering. She attained liberation at the feet or Lord Ram himself – something for which at least I am able to remain a stone for a billion ages. If we see from this angle, we understand the divine leela that Ram plays with us.
Many a time, God tests us. Why do bad things happen with good people? Why do some great souls have to suffer so much of harsh life? Why, even after leading a righteous life, one has to suffer a misfortune? There is always a catch. One, who remains good even in adverse conditions, is the real good. Bad times and seemingly wrong doings are occurred to us to test the real us and our faith.
It is so clear that Ahilya was selected by God and was made to pass a test. And eventually she was rewarded with the ultimate one. When she saw Lord Ram in front of her, she didn’t ask him to punish her husband. She was overwhelmed with joy and thanked her fortune of going through the tough times, so that she could be saved by Lord Ram Himself.
If she didn’t have any complains, why should our women rights activists fight endless battles for her? Are not they using her? I don’t see this as a case of gender-discrimination for the reasons I shared. I see hers as a case which proves how difficult the path to reach Him is. And how there are divine designs which we don’t easily understand by taking them at their face values.
(Rahul)
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