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CIA - 3

Prarthna Vasan

20214238

Psychology Department, Christ Deemed to be University

EST532N: Indian Literature

Dr. Aditi Dirghangi

Are women, the only victim of curse? Discuss in reference to the text Deliverance of Curse.
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One of the most influential and forward-thinking writers in Tamil was C. Viruthachalam, a

radical author and thinker who wrote under the pen name Pudhumaipithan. His writings are

known for their social satire, forward-thinking ideas, and sincere critique. In the year 2002,

the Tamil Nadu government nationalized Pudumaipithan's creations. He is the first to employ

a Tamil vernacular other than Chennai or Tanjore and is most known for his short stories. His

characters tended to speak in the Tirunelveli dialect. His compositions are a blend of

traditional and colloquial language. A mythological character from the Ramayana is named

Ahalya. She is one of the five Panchakanya, or Hindu epic heroines, who are Tara, Sita,

Mandodri, and Draupadi from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, respectively. These five

kanyas were not naturally born; they are "motherless." These women haven't produced the

typical way; instead, they were made from diverse components of the cosmos, proving their

holiness and chastity. (Water was used to produce Ahalya). Despite being the most

courageous of the five kanyas, Ahalya continues to stand out from the others. Ahalya married

Gautama Maharishi after passing a Brahma-instigated test. Even though Indra was soundly

vanquished, he was never truly able to shake his obsession for Ahalya. He tricked Ahalya

into having an affair by pretending to be Gautama. When Ahalya was caught, Gautama

punished her by turning her into stone. When Ram stepped on the stone, Ahalya was released

from her curse. There are numerous ways that this particular story can end. The deliverance

of Ahalya by Rama, which is viewed as evidence of God's rescuing grace, is frequently the

focus of medieval storytellers. Her tale has been repeated several times in the scriptures and

continues to be retold in contemporary poetry, short stories, dance, and theatre. While

traditional stories are Rama-centric, modern ones concentrate on Ahalya and narrate the tale

from her point of view. Other customs speak of her offspring. Many contemporary authors

have reexamined Ahalya, most frequently in the form of short stories or poems in various
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Indian languages. Even though Ahalya is only a minor character in all ancient sources and

she was "stigmatized and loathed by those around her" for defying gender expectations,

contemporary Indian writers have given her the position of an epic heroine rather than a

minor player in the Ramayana.

Deliverance from the Curse, a Tamil novel by Pudhumaipitan, centers on Rama's "double

standard" and a feminist perspective. In this story, even after she overcomes her curse, society

continues to reject her. In the mythical tale of Ahalya and Gautama, the story also looks at

loneliness and alienation. The episode begins as if it were the entirety of Ahalya's story. In

just a few sentences, Viswamitra tells Rama and Lakshmana about Ahalya. From Rama's

footprints, Ahalya was freed from the curse. After a century of Tapasya, Gautama appeared

on the scene; like a kid Ahalya said she felt hungry. Gautama satisfied her hunger by

procuring some garden fruits. The psychological conflict between Ahalya and Gautama's

minds, in which the past remained a shadow over their lives, was introduced by

Pudumaipithan. Even the other women in the hermitage are critical of Ahalya's past actions.

The couple's thoughts are jumbled as a result. They rebuild the hermitage after a few days; to

greet Rama and Sita when they ascend the throne. However, Rama and Sita suffered a terrible

fate in Ayodhya. Kaikeyi, Rama's stepmother, wants her son Bharathan to run the country and

Rama to go into exile for 14 years. Rama agrees to the Kaikeyi order, and Sita and

Lakshmana, Rama's brother, follow him. Gautama and Ahalya are irritated by this. They

consider their past. Similar to Rama and Sita, they also go on a pilgrimage. Rama returned to

Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and assumed the role of king. As they had promised

fourteen years earlier, Rama and Sita eventually visited Gautama's hermitage. The couple was

warmly welcomed by Gautama and Ahalya. Sita told Ahalya the truth about how Rama had
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put her chastity to the test by putting her through the fire ordeal. This incident brings Ahalya

back, and she remarks that Rama's law is different from Ahalya's. Even though Sita was

savagely kidnapped by Ravan and Ram still put her through an Agnipariksha, Ram said that

one should be judged by their intention rather than their action. As a result, Ahalya was

blameless because she was tricked by Indra. Therefore, he defied his own words to test her

chastity. Ahalya is enraged at Ram for this reason. Even though Ahalya makes mistakes, she

slept with Indra without Sita knowing, but Sita kept her virginity while she was in Lanka. An

enraged Ahalya will not come out when Rama and Sita leave the isolation. Ahalya's

wrongdoing was discovered by Gautama. He entered the monastery and hugged Ahalya; She

froze once more in the sculpted stone because she believed that Indra had returned disguised

as Gautama. As a result, she was able to escape the curse by herself. She was cured of her

real sin of being a human the second time. Even though she was found not guilty,

conservative society did not accept her, so turning it into a stone seemed like the best way to

get over her sin.

Ahalya, unlike most women of her time, did not fall into the pressures of patriarchy and male

dominance; she rose above it. Though she sensed a feeling of guilt, she did not let society tell

her what was wrong and what was not. The author regards Ahalya as an independent woman

who makes her own decisions, takes risks, and is driven by curiosity to experiment with the

extraordinary and then accept the curse imposed on her by patriarchal society. In this version

by Pudumaipithan, Ahalya was cured of her curse twice. Once when she was turned from

stone to human by Ram, and again when she turned back into stone. The first time, though

she was technically cured of the curse, parts of her were still stone. She wanted to be in a

world devoid of suspicion and wanted to escape the eyes of the world. Fear becomes a
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permanent part of her mind. Though she was cured of the curse, she still suffered. The second

time she was cured of her real sin of being a human. Even after being proven innocent, the

conservative society still did not accept her and hence being a stone seemed like the best way

to be cured of her sin.