Return to the index of Lilas
There are 2 famous rape incidences in the scriptures. One is of Vrunda by
Vishnu and the other is Ahalya by Indra.
In both, one of the participant becomes a stone.
In the 1st instance, Vishnu, the perpetrator, becomes a stone.
In the 2nd, the victim, Ahalya becomes the stone.
Indra rapes Ahalya to satisfy his own carnal
desires.
Vishnu commits the rape to weaken a danava king who was strong because of his
wife. It could be that her relatives were supporting his rule, making him
invincible against his enemies. Maybe the rape of Vrunda (also called
Tulsi) broke the marriage alliances and weakened the king enough for Devas to
attack and defeat the danavas.
Vrunda cursed Vishnu for her fall from grace and
widowhood that followed. In the society of that era, widowhood was
considered to be the biggest curse for a woman. It deprived her of all
joys in life and reduced her status to a lowly dependent. Because Vishnu
had acted in a cold, stone hearted way to assure the victory of Devas, Vrunda
cursed Vishnu to become a stone. Vishnu being Vishnu, he took the curse
calmly and understanding the reason for her anger, married her so that she would
not fall from grace and would not have to live out her life as a widow.
Infact, Vishnu declared that Tulsi is his favorite person and no offering to him
will be considered complete without an obligatory Tulsi leaf added to it.
Unlike Indra, who abandoned Ahalya after the rape, Vishnu did not abandon Tulsi.
In memory of that incidence, when in ancient times a woman wronged was given
full reparation, we still worship Shaligram and Tulsi together.
Maybe that is the main lesson of this lila.
B
Return to main courtyard of the Haveli