Ahalyā was the wife of Ṛṣi Gautama. Although virtuous, she had caught the eye of the god, Indra. In Indra’s mind lurked the constant fear that some ṛṣi or muni would snatch his post from him. To safeguard himself, he would send Madana Kumāra, the god of love, to kindle desire in the heart of any potential rival.
As far as Ṛṣi Gautama was concerned, his wife Ahalyā was beautiful and charming, and Indra realized that he would not be able to awaken lust in him. He would need to arouse his anger instead. So, assuming the form of Ṛṣi Gautama, Lord Indra approached Ahalyā. Although Ahalyā recognized him in the guise of her husband, a momentary weakness caused her to stray. When Ṛṣi Gautama learnt of this he cursed his wife to become a stone. Some claim that she literally transformed into a stone. Others believe that she became a statue, while some maintain that she simply sat down and was lost in meditation; there are a variety of interpretations.
Ṛṣi Gautama subsequently relented. He felt that it was not right on his part to put the blame on his wife alone. So, he declared that when the Lord took avatāra as Śrī Rāma, then, by the touch of the dust of His feet, Ahalyā would be liberated. Thereafter, Ṛṣi Gautama departed to do tapa. In the end, the ṛṣi and his wife were reunited.
Having narrated this story, Ṛṣi Viśvāmitra informed Śrī Rāma that Ahalyā, in the form of a stone lying in that dilapidated āśrama, was awaiting the dust of His feet. Would Śrī Rāma free her of her curse? She had languished in this way for a long time.
By the mere touch of the divinely purifying dust of Śrī Rāma’s lotus feet, Ahalyā, the embodiment of austerity, manifested. Beholding the Lord, the bestower of happiness on His devotees, she was overcome with love. Covered with goose bumps, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she felt her throat choke and she could not utter a word. Eventually, she was able to sing the praises of the Lord.
Lauding the Lord as the One who is attained through Knowledge, she claims that she is impure while the Lord is Purity Incarnate; she is helpless and fallen but He is the Protector of the lowly and forsaken. Therefore, she seeks refuge in Him.
Ahalyā describes the sorrow she felt when her husband cursed her. Now she realizes that he had, in fact, done her the greatest good for she was seeing the Lord with her own eyes, beholding the form that Lord Śaṅkara and others meditated upon. Ahalyā confesses that she has just one prayer: That her mind be ever immersed in the bliss of devotion to the Lord’s lotus feet, like the bee that hovers constantly over the delectable nectar of the lotus flower. It was from those divine feet that the holy Ganga had emerged and, on descending to the earth, had been borne by Lord Śiva on his head. Those same feet had liberated her from the curse! What more could she possibly ask for? The Lord granted Ahalyā the boon of devotion and reunited her with her husband.