Editing Ahalya (section)

== Modern renditions ==

[[File:Ahalyoddhara.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A white sari clad, young Ahalya sits with folded arms in left bottom corner. A blue-hued Rama (central figure) in a yellow dhoti touches his right foot to her, as he blesses her with her right hand and holds a bow in his left. A bearded, saffron-robed Vishvamitra stands to his left. Lakshamana stands to his right.|The redemption of Ahalya, as depicted on the cover of ''Ahalyoddhara'' (2006), a book by [[Rambhadracharya]].]]

Ahalya has been examined in a new light by several modern writers, most commonly through short stories or through poetry in various Indian languages.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}}{{sfn|Richman|2008|p=24}} Although Ahalya is a minor character in all ancient sources, "stigmatised and despised by those around her" for violating gender norms, modern Indian writers have elevated her to the status of an [[Epic (genre)|epic heroine]], rather than an insignificant figure in the saga of Rama.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}}{{sfn|Richman|2008|pp=27, 111, 113–114}} However, in modern devotional ''Ramayana'' adaptations where Rama is the hero, the redemption of Ahalya continues to be a supernatural incident in his life.{{efn|name=redemption of Ahalya}}

Ahalya's tale lives on in modern-day poetry, including works by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and English;{{sfn|Bhattacharya|March–April 2004|pp=4–7}} [[P. T. Narasimhachar]]'s 1940 [[Kannada]] poetic drama, ''Ahalya'', which weighs ''[[kama]]'' against ''[[dharma]]'' (pleasure against duty);{{sfn|Garg|1992|pp=235–236}}{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} and the works of the Sanskrit scholar and poet Chandra Rajan.{{sfn|Bhattacharya|March–April 2004|pp=4–7}} It is retold numerous times in stage enactments as well as in film and television productions.{{sfn|Bhattacharya|March–April 2004|pp=4–7}}{{sfn|Gudipoodi|30 May 2008}} Ahalya is a popular motif in the Mahari temple-dancer tradition of [[Odisha]].{{sfn|Ritha Devi|Spring-Summer 1977|pp=25–29}} Other works and genres of performance art that have been used to tell her story include the ''[[mohiniyattam]]'' dance of [[Kerala]];{{sfn|Ram Kumar|18 July 2011}}{{sfn|Santhosh|4 December 2011}} ''Ahalyamoksham'', a play by [[Kunchan Nambiar]] staged in the ''[[ottamthullal]]'' tradition;{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=40}} and ''Sati Ahalya'', a ''[[Telugu drama|padya-natakam]]'' drama from [[Andhra Pradesh]].{{sfn|Ram Mohan|25 January 2007}}

Early in the 20th century, the old norms were reasserted. [[Pa. Subramania Mudaliar]] in his Tamil poem (1938) describes Ahalya lecturing Indra on chastity, but Indra's lust compels him to rape her. Gautama turns Ahalya to stone to free her from the trauma. The Tamil writer Yogiyar portrays an innocent Ahalya, who sleeps with the disguised Indra, overcome with guilt and asking for punishment.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} [[Sripada Krishnamurty Sastry]]'s Telugu version of ''Ramayana'' (1947), one of the most censored versions of the tale, reduces Ahalya's contact with Indra to a handshake.{{sfn|Rao|2001|pp=168–169}}

Other authors reinterpreted the Ahalya legend from a very different perspective, often depicting Ahalya as a rebel and telling the story from her angle.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} [[R. K. Narayan]] (1906–2001) focuses on the psychological details of the story, reusing the old tale of Indra's disguise as Gautama, his flight as a cat and Ahalya's petrifaction.{{sfn|Doniger|1999|p=100}} The theme of adulterous love is explored in [[Vishram Bedekar]]'s musical [[Marathi language|Marathi]] play ''Brahma Kumari'' (1933) and the [[Malayalam]] works of P. V. Ramavarier (1941) and M. Parvati Amma (1948).{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} The Ahalya of the Tamil short story writer [[K. P. Rajagopalan|Ku Pa Rajagopalan]] (1902–44) also secretly longs for Indra and enjoys dalliance with him.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} [[Pratibha Ray]]'s [[Odia language|Odia]] novel ''Mahamoha'' (1997, "Great Lust") portrays an independent and nonconformist Ahalya as a [[tragic hero]]ine, who offers herself to Indra so that he can fulfil his lust and she her womanhood. When Gautama persuades her to lie to society by claiming to have been raped, she debates chastity and freedom of mind with him.{{sfn|Ray|2007|pp=27–29}}

Some writers try to imagine Ahalya's life after the curse and redemption, a denouement which remains undisclosed in the ancient scriptures.{{sfn|Richman|2008|p=24}} [[Pudhumaipithan]]'s Tamil story ''Sapavimocanam'' (1943, "Deliverance from the Curse") and [[K. B. Sreedevi]]'s Malayalam language work (1990) translated as "Woman of Stone" focus on Rama's "double standard" from a feminist perspective. They ask why Rama frees Ahalya from being cursed for adultery, but punishes his wife [[Sita]] over false accusations of adultery with her kidnapper, [[Ravana]].{{sfn|Prema Nandakumar|28 March 2006}}{{efn|name=translations in Richman}} In Pudhumaipithan's tale, Ahalya turns back into stone after hearing that Sita had to undergo a trial by fire to prove her chastity. Sreedevi portrays her turning into stone upon learning that Sita was banished from the kingdom on charges of adultery even after proving her chastity through the trial. Pudhumaipithan also narrates how, after the redemption, Ahalya suffers from "[[Psychological trauma|post-trauma repetition syndrome]]", repeatedly re-experiencing Indra's seduction and Gautama's fury, as well as suffering the ire of a conservative society that rejects her.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}}{{efn|name=translations in Richman}} Gautama also suffers from self-recrimination at his hasty decision to curse Ahalya.{{efn|name=translations in Richman}} In another story, ''Ahalya'' by Pudhumaipithan, Gautama forgives both Ahalya and Indra.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}}

S. Sivasekaram's 1980 Tamil poem ''Ahalikai'' examines the stone motif in Ahalya's tale: she marries a husband who is no more interested in her than a stone and briefly encounters joy with Indra, only to end up cursed to become a lifeless stone. The poet asks if it was better for Ahalya to remain physically a stone and retain her dignity rather than return to a stony marriage.{{efn|name=translations in Richman}} ''Uyir Maga'' ("Life-woman") by the Tamil poet Na. Pichamurthy (1900–76) presents Ahalya as an allegorical representation of life, with Gautama as the mind and Indra pleasure. The [[Marxist literary criticism|Marxist critic]] [[Kovai Gnani]], in his poem ''Kallihai'', represents Ahalya as the oppressed class and Rama as an ideal future without exploitation. Gautama and Indra represent [[feudalism]] and capitalism.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}} The character of Ahalya played by Kamala Kotnis in the 1949 movie ''Sati Ahalya'' ("chaste Ahalya") was described as still relevant by contemporary film critics due to its portrayal of the predicament of a stained woman.{{sfn|Dwyer|2006|p=60}}

[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Leaf from a Razm-nama Manuscript - Mohan (Son of Banwari).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=In the top, central figure of a young Chirakari touching the feet of a middle-aged Gautma, both dressed in royal Mughal clothes. Numerous royal ladies surround them. In the bottom of the painting, outside the door are royal men with horses.|Gautama is relieved to find that his son Chirakari has not carried out his impulsive order to execute Ahalya. (Leaf from the ''Razm-Nama'', a Persian translation of the ''Mahabharata '' initiated by the emperor [[Akbar]] in 1598–99. Currently in the [[Brooklyn Museum]])]]

Love, sex and desire become important elements of the plot in [[Sant Singh Sekhon]]'s [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] play ''Kalakar'' (1945), which places the epic drama in the modern age. It depicts Ahalya as a free-spirited woman, who dares to be painted nude by Inder (Indra), a pupil of the art professor, Gautama, and defends her decision against her husband's criticisms.{{sfn|Das|2006|pp=133–135}}{{efn|name=see Gill}} [[N. S. Madhavan]]'s Malayalam story (April 2006) also retells Ahalya's tale in a modern setting, wherein Ahalya, accused of adultery, is beaten by her husband, leaving her in a coma from which the [[neurologist]], Rama, revives her.{{efn|name=translations in Richman}} However, the practice of retelling the classical Ahalya–Indra tale in a contemporary setting is not new. The ''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'' (1001–1400) narrates a tale of two adulterous lovers, Queen Ahalya and the [[Brahmin]] Indra<!-- , which is inspired by Ahalya's tale -->. Here, Ahalya and Indra fall in love and continue their affair, despite being punished by Ahalya's jealous husband<!--the king -->. After death, they reunite in their [[reincarnation|next birth]].{{sfn|Varadpande|2005|p=101}}{{sfn|Doniger|1999|pp=104, 321–322}} The 2015 short film [[Ahalya (2015 film)|''Ahalya'']] gives a feminist twist to the tale where the policeman Indra turns into a stone doll, after visiting Ahalya.{{sfn|''DNA''|22 July 2015}}{{sfn|Roy|21 July 2015}}