India
Created by the Hindu god Brahma as the world’s most beautiful woman, Ahalya was married to the much older sage Gautama Maharishi. In the earliest full narrative, when Indra (the king of the gods) comes disguised as her husband, Ahalya sees through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Later sources often depict her as innocent, describing how she falls prey to Indra’s trickery, or is raped. In all narratives, Ahalya and Indra are cursed by Gautama. She is later freed from the curse by Rama. an avatar of the god Vishnu. In traditional Hinduism, Ahalya is held up as the first of the panchakanya (“five virgins”), archetypes of female chastity whose names are believed to dispel sin when recited.