Ahalya (Mythological Monologues #1)

I looked at him

for seconds that felt like eons passing by,

He had just cursed me

to transform into a stone;

Me- his loyal, devoted, beloved wife, Ahalya

He mouthed the curse

the way one rebukes a stray animal

No - not even an animal perhaps

A non-living object devoid of feelings

He had cursed me to transform into a stone. 

I was not heartbroken 

by the destiny that awaited me,

but by the trampling 

of my faith, trust, dignity and love.

The Great Sage Gautam

was no ordinary human being;

Couldn't he gauge my innocence

from my eyes that had always venerated him?

Couldn't he see how 

I was lured by the devious King Indra

who masqueraded as my husband

at the holy hours of dawn? 

But alas! My husband felt ashamed

to look into my eyes

as I have become impure and tainted. 

Why was I not given one chance to speak?

One chance to express my heart?

Wasn't it I who was wronged beyond measure?

Yet I was given the cruelest punishment

to transform into a stone

till Lord Rama's holy feet liberates me. 

I looked at Sage Gautam

And then at King Indra

The two men who wronged me

One- in untamed anger

Another- in unquenchable lust

Yet I had to pay the final price,

My fault is that I am a woman.

In my third eye, 

I could envision the future of women

Men will molest them, rape them

Yet society will blame 

and punish the poor women;

I shuddered at the magnitude of the curse

Sage Gautam did not just curse me

He had cursed all women in his rage. 

The agony of my daughters, 

granddaughters and great-granddaughters

Made an excruciating lump form in my throat;

I wanted all my thoughts and emotions to stop

Defeated, I embraced the curse 

And turned into a lump of stone. 

©Purba Chakraborty

01.04.2020

Note: In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the character of Ahalya is given a lot of importance. She was created by God Brahma and was the most beautiful woman. She was married to Sage Gautam and later cursed by him when Indra seduced her. She was liberated from the curse by Lord Rama, an avatar of God Vishnu.