Gautam cursed Ahalya and Indra both for this act. As he was escaping, he was caught by Rishi Gautam who was returning to the Ashrama from his bath. Indra came in the form of Gautam and made love to Ahalya. The king of the devas, Indra, was fascinated with Gautam's wife, Ahalya. Some famous disciples of Gautam were Praachina-yogya, Shaandilya, Gaargya, and Bharadwaja.Īccording to the Ramayana, Rishi Gautam once went to take bath in the river Ganges early morning. The Brahmaanda-purana mentions that one of the sub-branches of the Raanaayani branch of Sama Veda was initiated by this Gautam. The descent of Lord Shiva as Tryambakeshvar, that constitutes the source of the Jyotirlinga nearby, happened for the sake of Gautama. The 4th book of the Rigveda is that of the Vamadeva Gautam family. The sons of Gautam are Vamadeva and Nodha. With Bharadvaja, Gautam shares a common ancestry as they are both descended from Angirasa, and sometimes they are both bracketed together under the name Angirasa. He was the progenitor of the Gautam gotra. Gautama was one of the famous seven rishis termed Saptarshi. The Narada purana describes the story of the 12-year famine during which Gautam fed all the Rishis and saved them. Gautam's sixty-year long penance is mentioned in the Shanti parva of the Mahabharata. The Chief priest of King Janaka of Mithila, by name Shatananda, was the son of Gautama and Ahalya.
The Puranas speak of the story wherein it is described how Gautam won the hand of Ahalya by perambulating the divine cow in order to fulfill the stipulation of Brahma that whoever first goes round the whole Earth will win the hand of Ahalya. His wife is Ahalya, herself the mind born daughter (manasa putri) of Creator Brahma. There is a hymn called Bhadra in the Sama Veda which again is ascribed to Gautam Maharishi. He had two sons by name Vamadeva and Nodhas, both themselves discoverers of Mantras.
The Devi Bhagavatam says that the river Godavari is so named because of its association with Gautam. He was the son of Rahugana, belonging to the line of Angiras.
The Rig Veda has several suktas that go with his name. He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras - 'Mantra-drashtaa', in Sanskrit. Gautam Maharishi (Hindi: गौतम महर्षि) is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) sapta-rishis (seven Rishis) of the current Manvantara (seventh).