Etymology
The word Ahalya can be divided into two parts: a (a prefix indicating negation) and halya, which Sanskrit dictionaries define as being related to the plough, ploughing, or deformity. In the Uttar Kanda book of the Ramayana, the god Brahma explains the meaning of the Sanskrit word Ahalya as "one without the reprehension of ugliness", or "one with an impeccable beauty" while telling Indra how he created Ahalya by taking the special beauty of all creation and expressing it in every part of her body. Because some Sanskrit dictionaries translate Ahalya as "unploughed," some recent authors view this as an implicit reference to sexual intercourse and argue that the name refers to a virgin or a motherly figure. This fits the context of the character Ahalya, who is viewed as being in one way or another beyond Indra's reach. However, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), focusing on the literal meaning of "unploughed," interpreted Ahalya as a symbol of stone-like, infertile land that was made cultivable by Rama. Delhi University professor Bharati Jhaveri concurs with Tagore, interpreting Ahalya as unploughed land, on the basis of the tribal Bhil Ramayana of Gujarat, an undated oral tradition.
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