AkHaNDbHaRAtSages & Saints are revered in the Hindu culture and tradition. These sages have contributed a lot through our knowledge and virtues. The 7 Saptarishis are ; Rishi Agastya, Atri, Bharadwaj, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vasistha & Vishwamitra. The 4th sage Maharishi Gautama was the son of Sage Rahugana of the Angirasa clan. He has contributed a lot to the Vedas, scriptures and Puranas. He wrote the 4th mandala of Rigveda. He cursed his wife Ahalya causing her to turn into a rock. What made him curse his wife? How was Devi Ahilya freed of her curse. Here goes the story.
Lord Bramha had created Devi Ahalya. She was blessed with never ending beauty and youth. Pleased by his virtues he called Maharishi Gautam and gave him the responsibility of nurturing Devi Ahilya till she was an adult. When she became an adult, he bought her back to Lord Bramha. Pleased by her upbringing, Lord Bramha arranged a competition for her wedding. According to the competition Ahilya would marry the person who would complete the Parikrama of the earth. Attracted by Devi Ahilya’s beauty all the sages and deities took part in the competition. While returning to the ashram, Maharishi Gautama witnessed the birth of Kamadhenu the cow. Mesmerized by it he did a Parikrama around her and a shivaling nearby.Lord Bramha who was watching this through his Divyadrishti , was impressed by the Patience and Knowledge of Maharishi Gautama and he got Maharishi Gautam and Devi Ahaliya married. They both stayed at the Bramhagiri ashram after getting married. Enchanted by the beauty of Devi Ahalya , Lord Indra’s desire increased. He stalked Mahrishi Gautam & Devi Ahalya. One day Gautam Rishi went for bath in the nearby river during Bramhamuhurtam.Lord Indra disguised himself as Mahrishi Gautam and entered the ashrama.Admiring the beauty of Devi Ahilya asked her to have a physical relationship with him. She got influenced by Indra Dev and had a relationship with him. In the meantime Mahrishi Gautam came back to his ashram after his bath. He understood the entire sequence of events of what exactly happened in his absence. In a fit of anger Gautam Rishi cursed his wife Devi Ahilya to transform into a stone for her immoral act. He also said that Devi Ahilya would remain a rock until Lord MahaVishnu in his Ram Avtaar would come and touch this stone and free her from the curse. Saying this he went to the Himalayas to do his meditation-penance. Many years later Lord Ram came to Bramhagiri ashram accompanied by Lakshmana and Sage Vishwamitra. Mahrishi Vishwamitra narrated this story to him. After which the moment Lord Rama’s feet touched the rock, it turned into Devi Ahilya.Blessed by the Lord’s grace she then went to the Himalayas and started doing penance with him. Devi Ahilya is believed to be one of the Panchakanyas of Hindu culture. It is believed that reciting the names of Ahilya, Draupadi, Sita, Tara & Mandodari frees people from their sins.