The Road to Mithila: The Ganga and Ahalya

A company of sages followed Vishwamitra in a hundred carts. The road was long, and at every halt Ram asked a question, which Vishwamitra answered with an old story. Travelling in this way they reached the bank of the Ganga.

How the Ganga came to earth

Ram asked, "Sage, how does this Ganga flow through all three worlds?" And Vishwamitra told him a story of Ram's own ancestors.

King Sagara of Ayodhya had sixty thousand sons. Searching for the horse of his sacrifice, they dug up the earth, mistook the sage Kapila for the thief, and rushed at him. One glance from the sage turned them all to ash. There was only one way to free their souls: the heavenly river Ganga must flow over their ashes. Sagara could not bring her. His grandson Anshuman could not. Anshuman's son Dilipa could not.

Then Bhagiratha handed the kingdom to his ministers and performed austerities for years. Brahma was pleased, but said, "The earth cannot bear the force of the Ganga's fall. Only Shiva can receive her." Bhagiratha won Shiva's favour. Shiva caught the Ganga in his matted hair and then let a single stream down to the earth. She followed Bhagiratha's chariot all the way to the sea, and there the sons of Sagara were set free.

"That, Ram, is why the Ganga is called Bhagirathi," said Vishwamitra. "And when someone completes a hard task by trying again and again, people call it a Bhagirath effort." Ram and Lakshmana thought about the story all night. In the morning they crossed the river.

The deserted ashram

Near Mithila they saw an old hermitage, beautiful but quite empty. There was no sage and no pupil. Ram asked, "Whose ashram is this, and why is it deserted?"

Vishwamitra said, "This is the ashram of the great sage Gautama. He lived here in austerity with his wife Ahalya. One day, when Gautama was away, Indra came here in his form. Gautama returned and understood everything. In his anger he cursed Indra, and to Ahalya he said: You will remain here for thousands of years, living on air, lying in ashes, unseen by anyone. When Ram, son of Dasharatha, comes to this forest, you will be purified and regain your own form. Then Gautama went away to the Himalayas."

In popular tradition the story is better known in another form: that Ahalya was turned to stone and came to life at the touch of Ram's foot. The Ramcharitmanas tells it that way.

The release

"Ram, go in," said Vishwamitra.

Ram stepped into the ashram, and at that moment the curse ended. Ahalya became visible, glowing with the power of her penance like a flame wrapped in smoke, or the moon coming out from behind clouds. Valmiki writes that Ram and Lakshmana went forward and touched her feet. Ahalya remembered her husband's words and received the two of them as honoured guests. Flowers fell from the sky. Gautama returned at that very hour, and husband and wife were together again.

In this episode Ram says nothing. He simply walks in and bows. He gave respect to someone whom everyone had abandoned, and it was respect that brought her back.

From there they travelled north-east and came to the sacrificial ground of King Janaka.