Coming back to Indra, he approached the other demi Gods for help. He said that he had provoked the sage into using his powers and hence lessened them. This was good for the demi Gods who lived in fear of the powers of the ascetics. Hence they should remedy the curse inflicted upon Indra. The demi Gods killed a ram and attached his testicles to Indra. Even now when the Gods feast on lamb they leave the testicles for Indra. Indra then prayed to Shakti who converted the thousand vaginas to thousand eyes.
True to Gautam's word, Vishnu took birth as Rama in his seventh incarnation. Accompanied by sage Vishwamitra and his brother Laxman he passed by the deserted and decrepit hermitage of sage Gautam on his way to Sita's swayamvar. (A swayamvar is a ceremony in which the bride to be chooses a husband from the suitors present or the suitor who accomplishes a designated task wins the bride.) Rama expresses surprise at the desolate hermitage. Vishwamitra narrates the entire episode. Rama then touches the rock with his foot and brings a grateful Ahalya to life. Sage Gautam also appears and he and Ahalya bless Rama and grant him success at Sita's swayamvar.
Gautam and Ahalya lived happily and faithfully thereafter and today can be seen in their respective constellations, he in the Ursa Major and she in the Pleiades. For the full story of how this came about check out "http://www.7thstep.com/saptarish.html"
One narration has it that when the sage was hurrying back from the river he left behind his kamandal (sacred pot). Later, the river Ganga herself returned the kamandal, filling it with holy water, which was set up in the Ashram in the form of a tank. She also granted a boon that the tank’s water would be equal in holiness to the actual waters of the Ganga, which the Hindus hold sacred. Those who take a holy dip in the tank would earn the same blessing as one who has had a holy dip in the Ganga. Since then this hemitage, near modern day Dehradun, has become a holy bathing place of religious importance. Thousands of devotees visit the spot in April and October, when a big fair takes place here.
