Love & Seduction
By Liz Houser
A certain mood was beginning to
settle over the group. They were calmer now and ready to listen
to Chandra. It was almost as if they were all in a trance. Chandra
began the final story….a story of the darker side of love…a story of
seduction……
There once was a beautiful woman named Ahalya. Her beauty was without
compare. Her name meant “without any deformation,” which was entirely
true of her physical form. Men desired her and women admired her.
Ahalya was lucky enough to marry the honorable Gautama. He was a kind
man,
and treated her like a princess. She loved him deeply, and loved their
life together.
However, a long time ago when Ahalya was finding her husband there was
another who longed for Ahalya’s heart. Indra wanted Ahalya to be his so
badly. Indra is the god of the firmament and is among first rank of the
gods. He can assume any shape or form as well. Indra admired
her beauty and was determined to make her his wife.
When Ahalya received Gautama as her husband, Indra never forgot the
hurt
he felt……
Years later Ahalya and Gautama had set up a pretty nice life for
themselves. They lived in a wonderful and spacious house out in their
favorite part of the forest. Ahalya would take long walks every day,
stopping to pick her favorite flowers and visit her favorite animals.
Gautama would rise early every morning and go for long walks. This was
his time to do meditation and spend alone time with himself. He
cherished this time, and although Ahalya wanted him to be there when
she woke up, she knew he needed this time for himself. She loved and
respected him, so she never complained.
One morning Ahalya awoke to find her husband gone as usual. On this
particular morning she longed for Gautama very badly. She longed for
his warm body next to hers, and she wanted to be held. Maybe it was
because she had had a nightmare the night before. She wanted to be held
by
her husband and feel safe in his arms. She lay there looking through
the sheer curtains that surrounded their bed. She thought to herself
how wonderful it would be if her husband walked through the door and
climbed into bed.
All of a sudden, Ahalya noticed a figure approaching the bed. She felt
comfort as she recognized it to be her beloved hubby. He climbed into
bed and held her very tight. So tight in fact, that Ahalya felt strange
for a moment but then blew that feeling off. She began to kiss her
husband and lay there, helpless in his arms. She found it strange
that he was back earlier than usual, but she thought he must have felt
her needing him and came back. He was a good lover like that. He always
seemed to know what Ahalya needed.
They had been lying there for an hour or so, and Gautama had barely
spoken. Ahalya continued to lie in his arms and stare into his eyes.
Ahalya heard footsteps in the hallway and wondered who on earth could
be visiting them this early in the morning. They barely ever had
visitors and
if they did, they were expected visitors.
All of a sudden, the unknown visitor threw back the sheer curtains and
revealed himself to be the REAL Gautama! Ahalya gasped in horror! "What
is going on??" she thought to herself.
At that moment, the man who was holding Ahalya revealed himself and
turned back into none other than Indra. He looked at the two lovers and
laughed. “I have come here to do what I came here to do. If I can’t
have Ahalya, then no one will!”
At this moment, Gautama cursed Indra to have female markings all over
his body.
Ahalya sat there with tears
running down her face. She could still not wrap
her head around what had just happened. It all happened so fast. She
pleaded with her husband and begged for his understanding. Gautama
would not listen to a word she said. Finally, before she left, Gautama
cursed Ahalya and turned her into stone.....
This is truly a story of trusting
one’s inner voice and intuition. I warn
you lovers to be devoted and to watch for those who are jealous of the
love you share.
However, years later Ahalya and
Gautama were brought back together by Rama. Ahalya was returned to her
former beauty and they lived in love again.
After the moon was finished telling the story, both couples sat in
silence. Taylor and Anna had been truly touched by the story of Sita
& Rama. They were also inspired by the story of Savitri &
Satyavan. It encouraged Anna to be more devoted than ever to fighting
Taylor's cancer. After tonight, she knew they could fight it together
and she would stay by his side.
Loralee and Tristan were equally as inspired. Since Loralee's affair,
things have been hard between them. But after the story of Ahalya and
Indra, Tristan was able to forgive Loralee. He realized that when two
people truly care for one another they can get through anything.
While the couples had been talking, the moon slowly disappeared back
into the sky. Chandra smiled down upon the young lovers, thinking they
still had so much to learn about life and love. He was glad he was able
to fill their night with these wonderful stories of love and desire.
The campsite remained illuminated with perfect silver light as the
couples stayed up all night being together.
Author’s Note: I felt it necessary to include this story in my
collection of love stories to show the other side of love. There is not
always a rosy picture. Oftentimes there are very hard things
associated with love. I included the part at the beginning about Indra
wanting to marry Ahalya. I left out the part about Brahma stating that
whoever goes around the Earth first would win Ahalya’s heart and hand
in marriage. Indra actually did go around the Earth, and he thought he
had won. He later discovered that Gautama had already gone around the
Earth. Gautama won Ahalya’s hand in marriage and this angered Indra
very badly. Ahalya was later cursed by Gautama and then finally
liberated by Rama and returned back to her beautiful self. I also
payed special attention to the relationship between Gautama and Ahalya.
I added a sensual element to their relationships that isn't mentioned
in the stories in our book, but I felt it necessary for my own version.
Bibliography
Buck, William. Ramayana. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Narayan, R. K.. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the
Indian Epic (Penguin Classics). London: Penguin Classics, 2006.
Ahalya. (2009, April 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 02:38, April 28, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ahalya&oldid=286458759
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Story One
Story Two
Story Three
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