Folks, thanks for you comments.
First of all I would like to clarify that I did not quote this from any literary work. This is my interpretation, or rather an alternative interpretation of the same story.
I always felt that was more to this story than meets the eye. There are several gaping loopholes and obvious fallacies.
First of all, Ahilaya was a known pativrata woman. I find it impossible to believe that she was so easily tricked by Indra. This was an old ruse of the Gods- to test the fidelity of a woman by assuming the form of her husband - to see whether she was fooled or not. Sukanya, the wife of Maharishi Chyavana was not fooled; Damanyanti, Nala's wife was not fooled; so i find it hard to accept that Ahilya alone was so naive.
In any case, it would have hardly taken a few seconds for Ahilya to realize that Indra's eyes did not blink- the sure sign that he was a Deva- not a human. This was the clue which Sukanya and Damayanti used.
Secondly the very fact that her husband was requesting her company in bed during the Brahma Muhurta should have set off the alarm bells in her mind. A pativrata woman does not always have to obey her husband implicitly. She is also expected to restrain him from activities that will cause harm to either or both of them. Again I find it impossible to believe that Ahilya would have so easily given in to her 'husband's' unreasonable demand.Even if she did not know this was Indra in disguise, she should at the very least argued with him, tried to dissuade him.
The scriptures are very clear that the Brahma Muhurta is the most sacred hour during the day and it is during the Brahma Muhurta that the Gods - Mitra, Varuna, Soma and Indra had to be invoked. Not only was this a prescribed duty, but had the rishi indulged in bed time activities during this sacred hour, it would have resulted in a great sin. Remember what happened to Diti when she sought seclusion with her husband Sage Kashyapa in the evening? Despite the sages' arguments that evenings should be spent in religious activities,Diti was adamant. Result: she gave birth to Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu.
Thirdly, if she had truly sinned, how come she heads the list of Panchakanyas- "Ahalya Mandodari Tara Draupadi Kunti " If she had truly sinned, how and why did Lord Vishnu grace her with his presence?
With the above points in mind I wondered whether a different interpretation could be applied to the same story, keeping the main points intact. I have only made a slight change. In my interpretation, Indra changes into his true self in front of Ahilya itself.
And last of all, I am a huge fan of Gautama's Nyaya Shastra- from what little I have read. Somehow I didn't like his character being maligned by us š. I thought I should redeem him. š¤£
Shiv Shakti
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