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readwithshashank 's review for:
Ahalya
by Koral Dasgupta
Ahalya is famous as the lady brought back to life by Lord Rama; when he touches a rock in the forest. She was cursed by her husband Gautam Rishi for not having recognised Lord Indra who tricked her into a moment of passion by appearing as the Rishi.
I learnt from the book that she was created by Lord Brahma to showcase her as his most beautiful creation. He passed her to the Rishi to act as her guardian. He rarely interacted with her for long periods, then married her own day to leave her again to her solitude. The book explains how she yearned for love and attention, and only had a Mist that cared about her.
I haven’t understood what was her mistake when Lord Indra took over her husband’s physical form and they engaged in conjugal activities. I am also also amazed that a Maharshi like Gautam was so easily possessed by an external force (Indra in this case) and then blamed his wife for the events, even cursing her to become a rock till she’s lucky to experience the divine touch of Lord Rama.
The book is more or less a retelling of the original story, with some reasoning from the author to express Ahalya’s confusions, from why she was created, to her marriage, the subsequent curse and eventually she being pardoned when Lord Rama (or Vishnu) touches her physically. It’s the first of the Sati series by the author; I’ll pick up the remaining ones too, as apart from Draupadi, the other three characters aren’t written about much: Kunti, Mandodari and Tara.
An interesting quote from the book said: “You can only create a part of your vision; the rest creates itself.” That’s true even on how such books can interpreted. The author can present his/ her version of the story and leave a lot left for interpretation by the readers.
I learnt from the book that she was created by Lord Brahma to showcase her as his most beautiful creation. He passed her to the Rishi to act as her guardian. He rarely interacted with her for long periods, then married her own day to leave her again to her solitude. The book explains how she yearned for love and attention, and only had a Mist that cared about her.
I haven’t understood what was her mistake when Lord Indra took over her husband’s physical form and they engaged in conjugal activities. I am also also amazed that a Maharshi like Gautam was so easily possessed by an external force (Indra in this case) and then blamed his wife for the events, even cursing her to become a rock till she’s lucky to experience the divine touch of Lord Rama.
The book is more or less a retelling of the original story, with some reasoning from the author to express Ahalya’s confusions, from why she was created, to her marriage, the subsequent curse and eventually she being pardoned when Lord Rama (or Vishnu) touches her physically. It’s the first of the Sati series by the author; I’ll pick up the remaining ones too, as apart from Draupadi, the other three characters aren’t written about much: Kunti, Mandodari and Tara.
An interesting quote from the book said: “You can only create a part of your vision; the rest creates itself.” That’s true even on how such books can interpreted. The author can present his/ her version of the story and leave a lot left for interpretation by the readers.