Gautama
Contents1 of 7
  1. The Hermitage near Mithilā
  2. The Curse
  3. Rāma in the Empty Hermitage
  4. Śatānanda
  5. The Drought on Brahmagiri
  6. The Cow in the Rice Field
  7. The River from Śiva's Hair

The Hermitage near Mithilā

When Rāma, the prince of Ayodhyā, and his brother Lakṣmaṇa were travelling with the sage Viśvāmitra towards Mithilā, the city of King Janaka, Rāma saw, in a grove near the city, an old hermitage, lovely but empty, without any sages. Whose hermitage was this, sir? he asked.

This hermitage, said Viśvāmitra, once belonged to the great Gautama, until in his anger he cursed it. It was a place of heavenly beauty, honoured even by the gods. Long ago he practised austerity here with his wife Ahalyā, for countless years.