Gautama Maharishi ( sa, महर्षिः गौतम, ), was a sage in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, who is also mentioned in Jainism and Buddhism. Gautama is mentioned in the

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, and Gaṇeśa Pūrana and is known for cursing his wife Ahalyā, after she unknowingly had sex with

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

. Another important story related to Gautama is about the creation of river

Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

, which is also known as Gautami.

Children

According to

Valmiki Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

, Gautama's eldest son with Ahalyā is Satananda. But according to Adi Parva of Mahabharata, he had two sons named Saradvan and Cirakari. Saradvan was also known as Gautama, hence his children Kripa and Kripi were called Gautama and Gautami respectively. A daughter of Gautama is referred too but her name is never disclosed in the epic. In

Sabha Parva Sabha Parva, also called the "Book of the Assembly Hall", is the second of eighteen books of Mahabharata.van Buitenen, J. A. B. (1978) ''The Mahabharata: Book 2: The Book of the Assembly Hall; Book 3: The Book of the Forest''. Chicago, IL: Univer ...

, he begets many children through Aushinara (daughter of Uśīnara), amongst whom eldest in Kakshivat. Gautama and Aushinara's marriage takes place at Magadha, the kingdom of

Jarasandha Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadha, a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He was the son of king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popular lore, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 260 ...

. According to

Vamana Purana The ''Vamana Purana'' ( sa, वामन पुराण, IAST: ), is a medieval era Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is named after one of the incarnations of Vishnu and probably was a Vaishnava text i ...

, he had three daughters named Jaya, Jayanti and Aparajita. Gautama is also have said to have fathered

Śvetaketu Svetaketu (), also spelt Shvetaketu, was a sage and he is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad. He was the son of sage Uddalaka, whose real name was Aruni, and represents the quintessential seeker of knowledge. The Upanishads entail the journey ...

with

Uddālaka Āruṇi Uddalaka Aruni (fl. c. 8th century BCE), (Devanagari: उद्दालक आरुणि) also referred to as Uddalaka or Aruni or Uddalaka Varuni, is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism.Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative history of wor ...

in the

Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Bri ...

Ahalyā's curse

Gautama cursed his wife Ahalya for allowing Indra into her hermitage

The ''Gaṇeśa Purāṇa'' and ''Ramayana'' describes Ahalyā as his wife. Their marriage is recorded in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, which is believed as an interpolation to the epic. As per the story

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, the creator god, creates a beautiful girl and gifts her as a bride to Gautama and a son named Shatananda is born. The ''Upāsanā Khaṇḍa'' mentions Gautama cursing Indra when he comes home and finds

in an arguement with his wife. It is revealed that she had sex with Indra disguised as Gautama and he curses Indra with 1000 vaginas and turns Ahalyā into a stone until

Rāma Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

steps on her. Indra is eventually returned to normal after Gautama recites a mantra, and finds greatness in

Gaṇeśa Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

that he reveals to the

Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. and Ahalyā is graced by Rāma's foot. The ''Bala Khaṇḍa'' mentions that Gautama spots

, who is still in disguise, and curses him to lose his

testicles A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

. Gautama then returns to his ashram and accepts her.

Upaniṣads

Gautama is mentioned in two tales inside

. He speaks to Yajñavalkya with

Gārgī Vāchaknavī Gargi Vachaknavi (Sans: गार्गी वाचक्नवी (Devanagari); Gargi Vacaknavi (Harvard-Kyoto, HK)), was an ancient Indian sage and Ancient philosophy#Ancient Indian philosophy, philosopher. In Vedas, Vedic literature, she is h ...

and other

Kuru Kuru may refer to: Anthropology and history * Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people * Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology * Kuru Kingdom, ...

and

Pañcāla Panchala ( sa, पञ्चाल, IAST: ) was an ancient kingdom of northern India, located in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab of the Upper Gangetic plain. During Late Vedic times (c. 1100–500 BCE), it was one of the most powerful states of ancien ...

sages in King Janaka's kingdom to test to see if Yajñavalkya is a great sage. He also has a conversation with Pravāhaṇa Jaivali after Jaivali meets

and requests to meet his father. Jaivali promises to grant Gautama a boon, and describes the beauty and depth of the physical world, and teaches him how to perform

yajña Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

. Inside the Kṛṣṇa (black) book of the

there is brief mention of Gautama in the Brahmavidya Upaniṣad where a sage suggests killing Gautama instead of him in a conversation regarding

androphilic Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation, as an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to men or masculinity; g ...

intercourse and attractions.

References

External links

Rishis Characters in the Ramayana Saptarishi {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharishi_Gautama