Reading Notes A: Dasharatha's Sons and Ahalya

A painting of Ahalya by Ravi Varma.

(Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Dasharatha's sons and Avatar
There were two kingdoms in Hindustan: Koshala, which was reigned over by Maharajah Dasharatha, the Father of Rama and the Kingdom of Mithila, which was ruled by Maharajah Janaka, the Father of Sita. Dasharatha's wifes were struggling to bear a son and heir for Dasharatha so he resorted to sacrificing a horse to ask the gods to give him a son. The gods granted Dasharatha's wish, promising him that he would receive four sons. While this miracle on earth may have one mistaken that the gods held power of all affairs in the heavens and on Earth, the gods, not even Brahma, did not have the ability to contain the evil of Ravana, as Brahma had once agreed to perpetually protect Ravana, the demon of king, from gods and demons, given that Ravana enslaved Yama, the god of death. But, the gods knew that Ravana was vulnerable to the strength of apes and men, prompting Vishnu to offer his own being to be divided into four, being born as the four sons of Maharajah Dasharatha on Earth to defeat Ravana in human form. The Four sons were born: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna. Rama was the most beautiful of all, mirroring the image of Vishnu, and Vashishta the Brahmin told Dasharatha exactly why he received this blessing, filling his appears with pure happiness with a slight amount of worry of what the obligations of Vishnu would entail.

Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). 

Story of Ahalya:
As Rama saw a beautiful little wooden house in the distance, he asked Vishvamitra about it. Vishvamitra tells Rama the story of the Gautam, who had a wife named Ahalya that was so beautiful that the god Indra was absolutely infatuated with her. He had to have her, but there was no way that he could lure her away from Gautam, so instead, Indra took the human form of Gautam. As soon as Ahalya embraced who she thought was Gautama, she could instantly feel the presence of the God Indra instead of her husband's. She told him to run before Gautam found him and as he was fleeing Gautam's home, he ran into Gautam. Gautam instantly filled with rage and he cursed Lord Indra and then cursed Ahalya to have to live in seclusion in their home until Rama came to the home and purified her on her sins. After hearing that, Rama ran to the house, seeing the beautiful dame through he window. She has been waiting for what felt like eternity for Rama to come free her of her sins so she washed his feet and fed Rama and Vishvamitra. The rains poured down, the sun still shone, and they heard the Gods cry "rejoice", as Rama purified Ahalya of her sins and she felt the weight of the God's and Gautam's fury lifted off of her shoulders.

Source. Valmiki's Ramayana, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith (1870-1874).