Thread by @DefiledGod

Thread on Indra's seduction of Ahalya.

The story occurs in the Ramayana. Indra dons the disguise of Gautama and seduces Ahalya. There is a very beautiful tattvArtha embedded in this incident +

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“ahalya” means “one who is without deformities, ie, doshAs”. It refers to the pure self. “gautama” – “go” refers to the Veda +tamap suffix – means that (para vidya) superior to the Veda (apara vidya), or the superior knowledge of the Veda. +

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Ahalya is the self wedded to Gautama who is upAsaNa or meditation on Brahman. Main disruptor of this meditation is Indra representing lust or desire. His name “Indra” means "chief" or "foremost". In the gita, desire is said to be higher than even the self+

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Thus, lust (Indra) possesses the jIva (Ahalya) which causes it to astray from upAsaNa (Gotama). Let us interpret some shlokas from the bAla kAnda understanding this concept.

Indra seduces Ahalya by saying the following+

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R^itu kaalam pratiikShante na arthinaH susamaahite |
saMgamam tu aham icChaami tvayaa saha sumadhyame ||

[Oh, finely limbed lady, indulgers do not wait for a time to conceive, O slender-waisted one, I desire copulation with you.]

Inner meaning below.

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Inner meaning is this:

"Oh, one who is very intent or attentive on Brahman by nature (susamAhita)! Those desirous of indulging in sense objects (arthinaH) do not look for a right or fit time, or the rule of the Veda (ie, they indulge in them regardless)...+

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[I (lust/desire) wish for connection or coming together (in the sense of attaching via vAsaNAs) with you, who have a slender waist signifying vairAgya!]

Thus, despite the vairAgya of the jIva, it gets associated with lust.

Next, Gautama curses Indra.+

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mama ruupam samaasthaaya kR^itavaan asi dur.hmate |akartavyam idam yasmaat viphalaH tvam bhaviShyati || 1-48-27

[Wcked-minded Indra, taking hold of my form you have committed this unacceptable deed, so you shall become impotent].+

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Inner meaning,

[Oh lust, you who are (associated with) an impure mind (of the jIva)! By assuming my nature (of experiencing), you have performed this, which is an action unacceptable to the true nature of the self (akartavyam)....]

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...Therefore, (by virtue of prior upAsaNa), you will become ineffectual (ie, lust shall no longer afflict the jIva).”]

Gautama represents upAsaNa or experience of Brahman. Thus he says lust has assumed his form of experience, but for sense objects instead.+

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gautamena evam uktasya sa roSheNa mahaatmanaa |
petatuH vR^iShaNau bhuumau sahasraakShasya tat kShaNaat ||

[When Gautama spoke that way with rancour, the testicles of the cursed Thousand-eyed Indra fell down onto ground at that very moment.] +

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"sahasrAksha” – the perception or enjoyment of multitudes of sense objects. The testes falling off implies a lack of virility – meaning, such enjoyment is blunted and lust becomes ineffective. Prior upAsaNa yields this puNya phala despite transgression.+

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But for the crime committed and the lapse in Bhakti Yoga, the penalty is declared in the form of Gautama (personified upAsaNa) cursing Ahalya (the jIva) as follows.+

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iha varSha sahasraaNi bahuuni nivaShisyasi || 1-48-29 vaayu bhakShaa niraahaaraa tapyantii bhasma shaayinii | adR^ishyaa sarva bhuutaanaam aashrame asmin vaShisyasi || 

[You shall tarry here for thousands of years without food and consuming air alone...]+

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...and unseen by all beings you shall live on in this hermitage while contritely recumbent in dust.”]

Curse on Ahalya has the following inner meaning+

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[You, jIva, shall remain here in samsAra for many years (signifying many births), consuming air in the sense of experiencing movement in samsAra ceaselessly like the wind.]

(Upanishads refer to transmigration as "wind" due to ceaseless movement)+

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[You shall be without food (nir AhAra) which is the experience of Brahman. You shall reside in the body which is called “bhasma” as it is perishable and ends in ashes (when the self leaves the body).]

(Isavasya Up. refers to the body ending in ashes)+

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[You shall reside in this body called “Ashrama” as it hides knowledge of the self's true nature (A-Samyak, Sramyate-tapyate, gUhyate), imperceptible to all the senses (sarvabhUtAnam). ]

This is the penalty for lapsed upAsaNa. Next, the redemption+

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yadaa tu etat vanam ghoram raamo dasharatha aatmajaH | aagamiShyati durdharShaH tadaa puutaa bhaviShyasi ||

[When that unassailable son of Dasharatha, Rama, arrives at this terrible forest, as it will be rendered so with you, then you will be purified.]

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“vanam goram” refers to samsAra which is like a terrible forest where you get lost in rebirths. When one is a jnAni, even samsAra appears like mokshasthAna but for an ajnAni, it is dangerous.+

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The arrival of Rama is akin to the awakening of the knowledge of Brahman which would purify the self. “durdharShaH” means the Lord is incapable of being conquered and hence can conquer this samsAra for the jIva.+

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tasya aatithyena dur.hvR^itte lobha moha vivarjitaa |mat sakaashe mudaa yuktaa svam vapuH dhaarayiShyasi || +

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[On your welcoming Rama, oh, ill-behaved woman, you will be divested of your greed and delusion in which you lingered so far, and then you will assume your own body and then you can be in my proximity, rejoicingly.]

Inner meaning below+

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[By not obstructing the grace of Rama, the Supreme Brahman, you, the jIva will lose its’ vices accumulated due to vAsaNAs-rUcI-karmas. You will assume your own form, ie, you will manifest your true nature (svam vapuH dhaarayiShyasi)+
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...and rejoice in experience of Brahman (mudaa yuktaa) with the proximity of me who am Gautama signifying upAsaNa (mat sakaashe).]

Note “svam vapuH dhaarayiShyasi” parallels “svena rUpEna upasampadya” in Upanishad.

This incident is explained thus.//

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