Ahalya
Ahalya | |
---|---|
Member of Panchakanya | |
Devanagari | अहल्या |
Sanskrit transliteration | Ahalyā |
Personal information | |
Consort | Gautama Maharishi |
Children | Shatananda (according to Ramayana) |
In
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, Ahalya sees through his disguise but nevertheless 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.
Ahalya's seduction by Indra and its repercussions form the central narrative of her story in all scriptural sources for her legend.
In traditional Hinduism, Ahalya is extolled as the first of the panchakanya ("five maidens"), archetypes of female chastity whose names are believed to dispel sin when recited. While some praise her loyalty to her husband and her undaunted acceptance of the curse and gender norms, others condemn her adultery.
Etymology
The word Ahalya can be divided into two parts: a (a prefix indicating negation) and halya,[2] which Sanskrit dictionaries define as being related to the plough, ploughing, or deformity.[3][4] In the Uttar Kanda book of the Ramayana, the god Brahma explains the meaning of the Sanskrit word Ahalya as "one without the reprehension of ugliness", or "one with an impeccable beauty" while telling Indra how he created Ahalya by taking the special beauty of all creation and expressing it in every part of her body.[5] Because some Sanskrit dictionaries translate Ahalya as "unploughed,"[2][6] some recent authors view this as an implicit reference to sexual intercourse and argue that the name refers to a virgin or a motherly figure. This fits the context of the character Ahalya, who is viewed as being in one way or another beyond Indra's reach.[7][8][9] However, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), focusing on the literal meaning of "unploughed," interpreted Ahalya as a symbol of stone-like, infertile land that was made cultivable by Rama.[10] Delhi University professor Bharati Jhaveri concurs with Tagore, interpreting Ahalya as unploughed land, on the basis of the tribal Bhil Ramayana of Gujarat, an undated oral tradition.[11]
Creation and marriage
Ahalya is often described as an ayonijasambhava, one not born of a woman.
In the
The Brahma Purana gives a similar account of Ahalya's birth and initial custody, recording that her marriage was determined through an open contest. Brahma declares that the first being to go around the three worlds (heaven, earth and the underworld) will win Ahalya. Indra uses his magical powers to complete the challenge, finally reaching Brahma and demanding the hand of Ahalya. However, the divine sage Narada tells Brahma that Gautama went around the three worlds before Indra. Narada explains that Gautama circumambulated the wish-bearing cow Surabhi while she gave birth, as part of his daily puja (ritual offering), making the cow equal to three worlds according to the Vedas. Brahma agrees and Ahalya marries Gautama, leaving Indra envious and infuriated.[19] A similar, but shorter, version of Ahalya's early life appears in the Padma Purana (701–1200 CE).[20]
In all versions of the tale, after marrying Gautama, Ahalya settles into his
Hints of a relationship with Indra
The Brahmanas (9th to 6th centuries BCE) are the oldest scriptures to mention a relationship between Ahalya and Indra in the "subrahmanya formula", a chant used by
In the subrahmanya formula, Ahalya does not have a husband. The Sadvimsha Brahmana does not explicitly state that Ahalya has a husband, although Kaushika (interpreted by most scholars as Ahalya's husband)
The Shatapatha Brahmana's commentator, Kumarila Bhatta (c. 700), reasons that the Ahalya–Indra narrative is an allegory for the Sun or the light (Indra) taking away the shade of night (Ahalya).[16] Edward Washburn Hopkins, an American indologist, interpreted the Ahalya of the subrahmanya formula not as a woman, but literally as "yet unploughed land", which Indra makes fertile.[27]
Seduction by Indra
The Bala Kanda of the Ramayana is the earliest text to describe Ahalya's seduction in detail.[28][29] It states that Indra becomes enamoured by Ahalya's beauty, learns of her husband's absence and comes to the ashram disguised as Gautama to request sexual intercourse with her, praising her as a shapely and slim-waisted woman. She sees through his disguise, but consents owing to her "curiosity". According to another interpretation, Ahalya's pride in her beauty compels her.[30] Having satiated his lust, Ahalya requests that Indra, her "lover" and the "best of gods", flee and protect them from Gautama's wrath.[7][21] The Kathasaritsagara (11th century CE) is one of the few texts that mirror the Bala Kanda's Ahalya, who makes a conscious decision to accept Indra's advances. However, in this text Indra arrives undisguised.[31]
Although the Bala Kanda mentions that Ahalya consciously commits adultery, the Uttar Kanda of the Ramayana and the Puranas (compiled between the 4th and 16th centuries CE) absolve her of all guilt.[7][32] The Uttar Kanda recasts the tale as Ahalya's rape by Indra.[18][33] In one allusion in the Mahabharata, King Nahusha reminds Brihaspati, Indra's guru, how Indra "violated" the "renowned" rishi-patni (wife of a sage) Ahalya. According to Söhnen-Thieme, the usage of the words "violated" and "renowned" indicates that Ahalya is not considered an adulteress.[33]
The Puranas introduce themes that are echoed in later works, including the deception of the unsuspecting Ahalya by Indra's devious disguise as Gautama in his absence.
In some versions, though initially deluded by Indra's disguise, Ahalya eventually recognises the impersonator. In the Skanda Purana, Ahalya smells Indra's celestial fragrance and realises her folly as he embraces and kisses her and "so forth" (probably indicating a sexual act). Threatening Indra with a curse, she compels him to reveal his true form.
In Venkata Krishnappa Nayaka's Telugu rendition, Ahalya is depicted as a romantic adulteress. When Brahma creates Ahalya as the most beautiful being, she falls in love with Indra and longs for him, but Brahma grants her to Gautama. After Ahalya's marriage, Indra too craves for her. He frequently visits her and flirts with her in Gautama's absence. At one point, Ahalya receives a visit from Indra's female messenger, who proceeds to mock husbands who avoid sex by saying that it is not the right day for pleasure. Ahalya protests, maintaining that she imagines Gautama to be Indra as they have sex and that a woman should be a stone, forgoing all thought of sexual gratification. That night, when Ahalya longs for conjugal bliss, Gautama refuses her, saying that she is not in her fertile period. Agitated, she wishes that Indra was there to satisfy her. Indra perceives her wish and comes in Gautama's disguise, but is revealed by his seductive speech. Ignoring the deception, Ahalya joyously makes love to him.[41]
Curse and redemption
While most versions agree that Gautama curses Ahalya after discovering the affair, the curse varies from text to text. However, almost all versions describe Rama as the agent of her liberation and redemption.
Punishments of Ahalya and Indra
The Bala Kanda mentions that Gautama spots Indra, who is still in disguise, and curses him to lose his
In one instance in the Mahabharata, Indra is said to have been cursed by having his beard turned to gold as he seduces Ahalya, while a curse by Kaushika (sometimes interpreted as synonymous to Gautama) is cited as the reason for his castration.[7][47] In the Uttara Kanda, Indra is cursed to lose his throne and endure captivity and bear half the sin of every rape ever committed,[b] while the innocent Ahalya is cursed to lose her status as the most beautiful woman, as it had prompted Indra's seduction. Ahalya claims her innocence (this part is not found in all manuscripts), but Gautama agrees to accept her only when she is sanctified by offering Rama hospitality.[7][33][48]
Ahalya's defence plea is also found in some of the Puranas. 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.[19][35] The Padma Purana tells that as Indra attempts to flee in the form of a cat, Gautama curses him to lose his genitals and to bear a thousand vulvae on his body. The beguiled Ahalya declares herself blameless, but Gautama considers her impure and curses her to be reduced to a mere skeleton of skin and bones. He decrees that she will regain her beautiful form when Rama laughs at seeing her so afflicted, dried out (a reminder of the dried stream motif), without a body (the Ramayana curse) and lying on the path (an attribute often used to describe a stone). When Rama comes, he proclaims her innocence and Indra's guilt, whereupon Ahalya returns to her heavenly abode and dwells with Gautama.[20][34]
Stone motifs
In the popular retelling of the legend in later works, as well as in theatre and electronic media, Ahalya is turned to stone by Gautama's curse and returns to her human form only after being brushed by Rama's foot.[7][49] Pradip Bhattacharya, author of Panch-Kanya: The Five Virgins of Indian Epics, argues that this version of the tale is the result of a "male backlash" and patriarchal myth-making that condemns her as a non-entity devoid of emotions, self-respect and social status.[7][50]
According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Gautama curses Indra to bear a thousand vulvae, which will turn to eyes when he worships the sun-god Surya. Ahalya is turned to stone for sixty thousand years and destined to be redeemed only by Rama's touch. Ahalya accepts the verdict without debate. In another version in the same Purana, Gautama catches Indra fleeing as a cat and curses him with castration. Ahalya's plea of innocence is acknowledged by Gautama, who declares that her mind is pure and she has kept the "vow of chastity and fidelity", but another man's seed has defiled her body. Gautama orders her to go to the forest and become a stone until rescued by the touch of Rama's feet.[37][38] In Venkata Krishnappa Nayaka's Telugu rendition, when Indra reluctantly leaves, Gautama arrives and curses Ahalya to become a stone, to be later purified by Rama's feet. After she is freed from the curse, Gautama and Ahalya are reconciled and they spend their days in bed, exploring sexual techniques.[51]
The Skanda Purana tells that when Gautama arrives, Ahalya explains the whole tale truthfully, but is cursed by Gautama to become a stone, because he believes that she acted as a rolling stone, unable to recognise the difference between Indra's and Gautama's gestures and movements. The touch of Rama's feet is prophesied to be her saviour. The terrified Indra escapes as a cat and is cursed with castration.[39] Ahalya's truthfulness is also observed in the Kathasaritsagara. When Gautama arrives after the act, Indra tries to flee as a cat but is cursed to bear the marks of a thousand vulvae. When asked by Gautama about her visitor, Ahalya wittily answers that it was a majjara, a word meaning either "cat" or, when split as ma-jara, "my lover". Gautama laughs and curses her to be turned into stone, but decrees that she will be released by Rama since she at least spoke the truth.[15][31]
The petrification motif also appears in non-scriptural works. The
Although opinions differ on whether the Bala Kanda narrative of Ahalya refers to the divinity of Rama, later sources assert Rama's divine status, portraying Ahalya as a condemned woman rescued by God.[32][c][d] The Bhakti-era poets use the episode as an archetypal example to demonstrate God's saving grace. The main theme of such narratives is her deliverance by Rama, which is seen as proof of his compassion.[55]
Most of the fifth chapter of the Bala Kanda Book of the
Other variants
In some rare exceptions, the curse is dropped. In an instance in the Mahabharata, where details of the seduction are absent, an agitated Gautama orders his son Chirakari to behead his "polluted" mother and leaves the ashram. However, Chirakari is hesitant to follow the order and later concludes that Ahalya is innocent. Gautama returns and repents his hasty decision, realising that Indra is the guilty party.[33][61] In the Bhil Ramayana, Gautama attacks and imprisons Indra, who is freed when he promises to shower rain on the crops as the rain god. He must also ensure that one quarter of the crops is dedicated to Gautama. Here, Ahalya is interpreted as dry and burnt land, eager for the rains sent by Indra, who is tamed by the wild cyclonic Gautama.[11]
Modern renditions
Ahalya has been examined in a new light by several modern writers, most commonly through short stories or through poetry in various Indian languages.[62][63] Although Ahalya is a minor character in all ancient sources, "stigmatised and despised by those around her" for violating gender norms, modern Indian writers have elevated her to the status of an epic heroine, rather than an insignificant figure in the saga of Rama.[62][64] However, in modern devotional Ramayana adaptations where Rama is the hero, the redemption of Ahalya continues to be a supernatural incident in his life.[e]
Ahalya's tale lives on in modern-day poetry, including works by
Early in the 20th century, the old norms were reasserted. Pa. Subramania Mudaliar in his Tamil poem (1938) describes Ahalya lecturing Indra on chastity, but Indra's lust compels him to rape her. Gautama turns Ahalya to stone to free her from the trauma. The Tamil writer Yogiyar portrays an innocent Ahalya, who sleeps with the disguised Indra, overcome with guilt and asking for punishment.[62] Sripada Krishnamurty Sastry's Telugu version of Ramayana (1947), one of the most censored versions of the tale, reduces Ahalya's contact with Indra to a handshake.[70]
Other authors reinterpreted the Ahalya legend from a very different perspective, often depicting Ahalya as a rebel and telling the story from her angle.[62] R. K. Narayan (1906–2001) focuses on the psychological details of the story, reusing the old tale of Indra's disguise as Gautama, his flight as a cat and Ahalya's petrifaction.[71] The theme of adulterous love is explored in Vishram Bedekar's musical Marathi play Brahma Kumari (1933) and the Malayalam works of P. V. Ramavarier (1941) and M. Parvati Amma (1948).[62] The Ahalya of the Tamil short story writer Ku Pa Rajagopalan (1902–44) also secretly longs for Indra and enjoys dalliance with him.[62] Pratibha Ray's Odia novel Mahamoha (1997, "Great Lust") portrays an independent and nonconformist Ahalya as a tragic heroine, who offers herself to Indra so that he can fulfil his lust and she her womanhood. When Gautama persuades her to lie to society by claiming to have been raped, she debates chastity and freedom of mind with him.[72]
Some writers try to imagine Ahalya's life after the curse and redemption, a denouement which remains undisclosed in the ancient scriptures.[63] Pudhumaipithan's Tamil story Sapavimocanam (1943, "Deliverance from the Curse") and K. B. Sreedevi's Malayalam language work (1990) translated as "Woman of Stone" focus on Rama's "double standard" from a feminist perspective. They ask why Rama frees Ahalya from being cursed for adultery, but punishes his wife Sita over false accusations of adultery with her kidnapper, Ravana.[73][f] In Pudhumaipithan's tale, Ahalya turns back into stone after hearing that Sita had to undergo a trial by fire to prove her chastity. Sreedevi portrays her turning into stone upon learning that Sita was banished from the kingdom on charges of adultery even after proving her chastity through the trial. Pudhumaipithan also narrates how, after the redemption, Ahalya suffers from "post-trauma repetition syndrome", repeatedly re-experiencing Indra's seduction and Gautama's fury, as well as suffering the ire of a conservative society that rejects her.[62][f] Gautama also suffers from self-recrimination at his hasty decision to curse Ahalya.[f] In another story, Ahalya by Pudhumaipithan, Gautama forgives both Ahalya and Indra.[62]
S. Sivasekaram's 1980 Tamil poem Ahalikai examines the stone motif in Ahalya's tale: she marries a husband who is no more interested in her than a stone and briefly encounters joy with Indra, only to end up cursed to become a lifeless stone. The poet asks if it was better for Ahalya to remain physically a stone and retain her dignity rather than return to a stony marriage.[f] Uyir Maga ("Life-woman") by the Tamil poet Na. Pichamurthy (1900–76) presents Ahalya as an allegorical representation of life, with Gautama as the mind and Indra pleasure. The Marxist critic Kovai Gnani, in his poem Kallihai, represents Ahalya as the oppressed class and Rama as an ideal future without exploitation. Gautama and Indra represent feudalism and capitalism.[62] The character of Ahalya played by Kamala Kotnis in the 1949 movie Sati Ahalya ("chaste Ahalya") was described as still relevant by contemporary film critics due to its portrayal of the predicament of a stained woman.[74]
Love, sex and desire become important elements of the plot in
Children
The Ramayana mentions Ahalya's son, Shatananda (Satananda), the family priest and preceptor of King Janaka of Mithila. In this version, Shatananda asks Vishvamitra anxiously about the well-being of his "renowned" mother.[79][80] By contrast, the Mahabharata mentions two sons: Sharadvan, born with arrows in his hand, and Chirakari, whose extensive brooding over his actions leads to procrastination. Besides these, an unnamed daughter is also alluded to in the narrative. The Vamana Purana mentions three daughters: Jaya, Jayanti and Aparaji.[79]
Another legend, generally told in Indian folk tales, states that
Some
Assessment and remembrance
A well-known verse about Ahalya runs:[6][87]
Sanskrit transliteration
ahalyā draupadī Kunti tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīḥ ॥
English translation
Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari
One should forever remember the five virgins who are the destroyers of great sins
Note: A variant of this prayer replaces Sita with Kunti.[7][49][88]
Orthodox Hindus, especially Hindu wives, remember the
Another view does not regard the panchakanya as ideal women who should be emulated.
The place where Ahalya is held to have practised her penance and was redeemed has been celebrated in scriptures as a sacred place called the Ahalya-tirtha. A
For Bhattacharya, Ahalya is the eternal woman who responds to her inner urges and the advances of the divine ruler, a direct contrast to her ascetic husband, who did not satisfy her carnal desire. The author regards Ahalya as an independent woman who makes her own decisions, takes risks and is driven by curiosity to experiment with the extraordinary and then accept the curse imposed on her by patriarchal society.[7] It is this undaunted acceptance of the curse that makes the Ramayana praise and venerate her.[97] V. R. Devika, author of Ahalya: Scarlet Letter, asks, "So is it right to condemn adultery and physical encounters as modern afflictions and against our [Indian/Hindu] culture? Or do we learn from Ahalya who made a conscious choice to fulfil her need and yet has been extolled?"[49]
Like Bhattacharya, 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.[98] Patriarchal society always condemns Ahalya as a fallen woman.[50] In Bhavabhuti's 8th-century play Mahaviracharita, which alludes to Ahalya's redemption in a verbal spat with Parashurama, Satananda is mocked as the son of Ahalya, the adulteress.[99] Jaya Srinivasan, in her discourses on tales from the Hindu epics, says that though Ahalya's action was "unpardonable", she was redeemed by the divine touch of dust from Rama's feet. Jaya adds that Ahalya's actions and the resultant curse are a warning that such immoral behaviour leads to doom, although sincere penitence and complete surrender to God can erase the gravest sins.[100] In Hindu Tamil weddings in India and Sri Lanka, Ahalya appears as a symbolic black grinding stone, which the bride touches with her foot while promising not to be like Ahalya. The bride is also shown the star associated with the chaste Arundhati, who is cast as her ideal.[101][102] The well-known treatise on sexual behaviour, the Kama Sutra (301–600), also mentions Ahalya and Indra while discussing how lust destroys men.[103] However, it also urges men to seduce women by telling the romantic tales of Ahalya.[104] The sixth-century Tamil epic Manimekalai alludes to her tale warning how the gods also do not remain untouched by illicit love.[105]
The right-wing Hindu women's organisation
A similar tale of divine seduction appears in
See also
Footnotes
Explanatory notes
- ^ Rambhadracharya 2006, p. 36: "... महाभागां माने इसका सीधा सा उत्तर है, यदि आप कहें कि महाभागां माने महाभाग्यशालिनी, तो उसको तारने की क्या आवश्यकता है, तब क्यों तारा जाए। तो कहा महाभागां, अरे, वहाँ खण्ड करो – महा अभागां, ये बहुत दुर्भाग्यशालिनी महिला है – महत् अभागं यस्याः सा, जिसका बहुत बड़ा अभाग्य है ..." ("... mahābhāgāṃ means – it's a straightforward answer, if one says that mahābhāgāṃ means highly fortunate, then what is the need to liberate her, why should she be liberated? Then, it was said, mahābhāgāṃ – decompose it as mahā abhāgām, she is an extremely unfortunate lady – mahat abhāgaṃ yasyāḥ sā, whose misfortune is very extreme ...")
- ^ The curse of the Uttara Kanda is fulfilled when Indrajit defeats Indra and conquers heaven.
- ^ Goldman 1990, p. 45: "The Bala Kanda episode in which Rama releases Ahalya ... in hands of Tulsi Das ... and other poets of the bhakti movement becomes the archetypal demonstration of the lord's saving grace – is in Valmiki handled with no reference to the divinity of the hero"
- ^ Rambhadracharya 2006, pp. 35–36: The author states that the use of the word taaraya (IAST tāraya, "liberate") by Valmiki in verse 1.49.12 (spoken by Vishvamitra to Rama) of the Ahalya narrative implies the divinity of Rama, since it is only God that can liberate and not a common man.
- ^ See examples:
- ^ a b c d e Richman 2008, pp. 113–114: The translations of all these works are present in Richman 2008, pp. 141–173.
- ^ See English translation in Gill 2005, pp. 251–304.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 40–41.
- ^ a b Wilson 2008, p. 100.
- ^ Apte 2004, p. 637.
- ^ Monier-Williams 2008, p. 1293.
- ^ Gita Press 1998, pp. 681–682 (Verses 7.30.22–23).
- ^ a b Apte 2004, p. 73.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bhattacharya & March–April 2004, pp. 4–7.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 89, 129.
- ^ Feller 2004, p. 146.
- ^ Datta 2001, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Jhaveri 2001, pp. 149–52.
- ^ Goldman 1990, p. 218.
- ^ Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 50–51.
- ^ a b c Ritha Devi & Spring-Summer 1977, pp. 25–29.
- ^ a b c Mani 1975, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Garg 1992, pp. 235–236.
- ^ Bhattacharya 2000, pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, pp. 89–90, 321–322.
- ^ a b c Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 51–53.
- ^ a b c Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b Goldman 1990, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Feller 2004, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d e Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 46–48.
- ^ Feller 2004, p. 132.
- ^ Keith 1998, p. 132.
- ^ a b Feller 2004, pp. 132–135.
- ^ Söhnen 1991, p. 73.
- ^ Söhnen-Thieme 1996, p. 39.
- ^ Ray 2007, pp. 24–25.
- ^ The Hindu & 25 June 2010.
- ^ a b c Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 58–59.
- ^ a b Ray 2007, pp. 25–26.
- ^ a b c d Söhnen-Thieme 1996, p. 45.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, pp. 92–93, 321–322.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, pp. 95–96, 321–322.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 100–103, 321–322.
- ^ a b Söhnen-Thieme 1996, pp. 56–58.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, pp. 94, 321–322.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, pp. 96–97, 321–322.
- ^ a b Ramanujan 1991, pp. 28–32.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 101–102, 321–322.
- ^ Goldman 1990, pp. 217–218.
- ^ Wilson 2008, p. 650.
- ^ Monier-Williams 2008, p. 798.
- ^ Macdonell 2008, p. 221.
- ^ Goldman 1990, pp. 215–218.
- ^ Ganguli Shanti Parva 1883–1896, chap. CCCXLIII.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 89–90, 92, 321–322.
- ^ a b c Devika & 29 October 2006, p. 52.
- ^ a b Bhattacharya & November–December 2004, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 101–103, 321–322.
- ^ Kālidāsa & Devadhar 1997, pp. 203–204, 606.
- ^ Patel 1994, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Zvelebil 1973, p. 213.
- ^ Goldman 1990, p. 45.
- ^ Dhody 1995, pp. 17–20.
- ^ a b Gita Press 2004, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Prasad 1990, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Prasad 1990, pp. 22, 158, 180, 243, 312, 692.
- ^ Rambhadracharya 2006, pp. 101, 269.
- ^ Ganguli Shanti Parva 1883–1896, chap. CCLXVI.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Das 2006, pp. 133–135.
- ^ a b Richman 2008, p. 24.
- ^ Richman 2008, pp. 27, 111, 113–114.
- ^ Gudipoodi & 30 May 2008.
- ^ Ram Kumar & 18 July 2011.
- ^ Santhosh & 4 December 2011.
- ^ Sharma 2000, p. 40.
- ^ Ram Mohan & 25 January 2007.
- ^ Rao 2001, pp. 168–169.
- ^ Doniger 1999, p. 100.
- ^ Ray 2007, pp. 27–29.
- ^ Prema Nandakumar & 28 March 2006.
- ^ Dwyer 2006, p. 60.
- ^ Varadpande 2005, p. 101.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 104, 321–322.
- ^ DNA & 22 July 2015.
- ^ Roy & 21 July 2015.
- ^ a b Mani 1975, p. 285.
- ^ Goldman 1990, pp. 220–221.
- ^ Pattanaik 2001, p. 49.
- ^ Freeman 2001, pp. 201–204.
- ^ Pattanaik 2001, p. 50.
- ^ Pattanaik 2000, p. 109.
- ^ Bulcke 2010, pp. 129–131.
- ^ Headley 2011, pp. 104–105.
- ^ a b c d Chattopadhyaya 1982, pp. 13–14.
- ^ a b Mukherjee 1999, p. 36.
- ^ a b c Dallapiccola 2002.
- ^ Vijnanananda 1921–1922, p. 876.
- ^ a b Mukherjee 1999, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Bhattacharya 2000, p. 13.
- ^ Kapoor 2002, p. 16.
- ^ Ganguli Vana Parva 1883–1896, chap. LXXXIV.
- ^ Official Site of Darbhanga District 2006.
- ^ Benton 2006, p. 79.
- ^ Bhattacharya & November–December 2004, p. 31.
- ^ Kelkar 1995, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Mirashi 1996, pp. 113, 150.
- ^ The Hindu & 30 September 2002.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Jensen 2002, p. 398.
- ^ Doniger 1999, p. 90.
- ^ Varadpande 2005, p. 100.
- ^ Aiyangar 1927, pp. 28, 156.
- ^ Bacchetta 2002, pp. 50–51.
- ^ Feldhaus 1998, p. 207.
- ^ Söhnen 1991, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Doniger 1999, pp. 124–125.
References
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External links
- Ahalya's Stuti of Rama in the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas Archived 26 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine