CELESTIALNYMPHS –PART 2
APSARASURVASHI- CONTINUED
Dear friends,
I started the topic aboutNYMPH URVASHI yesterday.More knowing information is
only told in brief. Where ever I wantedconfirmation, I have made Google search
and results are provided. This postingcontinues with information on apsaras
Urvashi.
Hope an interesting reading to members like me. The posting is least oriented
to ALLKNOWING MEMBERS.
Gopalakrishnan 01-03-2026
Wife of king Pururavas
This story is in the DeviBhagavata Purana, Book 1, Chapter 13 and the
Harivamsa, Harivamsa Parva,Chapter 26
Among all apsaras Urvashi had the freedom to frequent betweenheaven and earth.
The most prominent myth featuring Urvashi is about hermarriage to Pururavas,a
mortal king who is credited as the founder of Chandravamsha (‘lunar dynasty'),
a legendary dynastyin ancient India. The legend is first narrated in the Rig
Veda, where it ispresented in the form of dialogue between them. The Vedic
hymns suggest that she has left her husbandPururavas after living for four
years with him. The king beseechesher to return, but she harshly refuses,
complaining that he made too much lovewith her. She advises him to do good
deeds to ascend to heaven and reunite withher.
The context for thisscene is provided in subsequent texts. Scholars note that
while in Rig VedaUrvashi is portrayed as being a self-willed and unyielding
woman who married Pururavas for her owndesire and abandons him after giving
birth to their son; the lateradaptations mark her for her love for Pururavas
and blame the celestial beingsfor their separation.
The Post-Vedic texts attest that Urvashi falls in love withhandsome and heroic
Pururavas and the latter also reciprocates his feelings forher. After Urvashi
is cursed to descend on the Earth and become the wife of amortal, she marries
Pururavas on some conditions, with the most important beingthat he would never
appear naked before her apart from intimacy as told in theShatapatha Brahmana.
In the Puranas,three conditions are mentioned—Pururavas would never appear
naked in front ofher, he would protect hertwo pet sheep and she would only
consume ghee (clarified butter).
Pururavas thought these conditions were odd, but he just wentalong with it and
accepted them. They were simple enough to follow. SoPururavas and Urvashi got
married. They spent years together in different regions such as thegardens of
Kubera or the base of Mount Gandhamadhana. Soon,fifty-nine whole years passed,
and the couple remained engrossed in each other.
According to Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana, the marriage was due tothe
curse of Mitra, while in the Devi Bhagavata Purana the curse is attributed
toBrahma.
Urvashi spends many yearsenjoying amorous sports with Pururavas.
Meanwhile,Urvashi's presence is missed in heaven.
A group of Gandharvas (celestial musicians), led by Vishvashu, are instructedto
bring her back to heaven. One night when Urvashi and Pururavas are busymaking
love, the Gandharvas abduct Urvashi's pet sheep that were tied to her bed,
andhearing their cries, Urvashi rebukes Pururavas for not protecting them. In
haste, Pururavas forgets thathe is naked, and stands up to chase the sheep.
The Gandharvas then illuminate the place with a bolt oflightning, leading to
Urvashi seeing Pururavas naked. Pururavas manages to bring back thesheep but
Urvashi vanishes.
Grief-sickened, he searches for her across the country and finds her disguised
as a swan in alake. He supplicates her to return but she refuses.
Seeing his sorrow, Urvashi reveals that she is pregnant with their child
andinstructs him to return to the same place the next year so that they
couldspend that night together.
Urvashi returned once every year as promised to him and boresix sons—Ayus,
Shrutayus, Satyayus, Raya, Vijaya, and Jaya.
The Adi Parva of Mahabharatamentions different names of these six sons - Ayus,
Dhimat, Amavasu andDhridhayus, Vanayus, and Satayus.
Following their birth, Urvashi suggests Pururavas toperform penance to
transform himself into a Gandharva and ascend toheaven. Pururavas successfully
accomplishes the task and is able to reunitewith Urvashi in heaven.
Birth of Rishya Sringa
In the VayuPurana, the sage Agastya once arrives in Indra's court and
iswelcomed by a dance performance of Urvashi. In the performance, Urvashi
andJayanta, the son of Indra, look into each other's eyes in love. The
distracted Urvashi missesa beat, and the dance goes haywire. Due to this,
Jayanta is cursed to be born as bamboo, and Urvashi is cursed to takebirth on
Earth as a woman named Madhavi.
Urvashi is said to have caused the birth of the sageRishyashringa. According
tothe Mahabharata, Urvashi was traveling on the banks of a river, whenrishi
Vibhandaka, son ofKashyapa, sees her and becomes aroused. His seed comes in
contactwith a doe, who turnsout be an apsara cursed to remain in that form till
she gives birth to a boy. She gives birth to Rishyashringa,and he is raised by
his father.
Note- I felt a Googlesearch may give more details
According to the Mahabharata and other Puranic traditions,the sage Rishyasringa
was born after his father, Sage Vibhandaka, wasdistracted by the sight of the
celestial nymph (apsara) Urvashi.
While the core of the story involves Urvashi, there are two primary versions
ofhow Rishyasringa was actually born:
The Miraculous Birth (MostCommon): WhileVibhandaka was performing penance or
bathing in a river, he saw Urvashi and wasso moved by her beauty that he
involuntarily emitted seminal fluid into thewater. A thirsty doe (a female
deer) drank from that water and became pregnant.This deer was actually acursed
celestial being that was destined to be liberated from her animal formafter
giving birth to a sage. Because he was born from adeer, the child had a small
horn on his forehead, leading to the nameRishyasringa ("Deer-horned").
The Union Version: Somelocal traditions or alternative retellings suggest a
more direct union where Urvashi livedwith Vibhandaka as his wife for a time,
gave birth to Rishyasringa, and thenreturned to the heavens.
Key Facts aboutRishyasringa:
Father: Sage Vibhandaka, a descendant of the sage Kashyapa.
Upbringing: To protect him from further worldly distractions,Vibhandaka raised
him in complete isolation in the forest. He grew up neverhaving seen another
human being—especially women—until he reached adulthood.
Role in the Ramayana: Heis famous for performing the Putrakameshti Yagna for
King Dasharatha, which ledto the birth of Lord Rama and his brothers.
Wife: He eventually married Shanta, who was the daughter ofKing Dasharatha and
adopted by King Romapada of kingdom Anga.
Arjuna rejectsUrvashi.
Another tale featuring Urvashi and a mortal prince is foundin the
Mahabharata.Arjuna, a prince belonging to Chandravamsha and the spiritual son
of Indra,comes to heaven to learn under Gandharva Chitrasena.
Urvashi becomesattracted to him and reaches Arjuna's residence adorned in
beautiful attire.She tells him about her desire, but Arjuna latter jilts her
advances,considering her to be an ancestor of his, as well as a mother, because
of her past marriage to Pururavas.
Urvashi tries to convince him to accept her by telling that Apsaras are free
and unconfined in their choice, and they can sportwith any man they wish.
Arjuna still refuses and an enraged Urvashicurses him to be destitute of his
manhood and to be scorned as a eunuch for one year.
Indra later pacifies Arjuna that the curse would bebeneficial for him during
his Anjatavasa (incognito exile).
On account of thisincident, often the saying “Urvashi sapam upakaram” is told
in Malayalam/Tamil
The Birth of Urvashi-In detail
This story is in the DeviBhagavata Purana, Book 4, Chapters 5-6
My note- The detailed story is quite interesting and feltincluding.
Nara and Narayana were the sons of Dharma and the grandsonsof Lord Brahma. They
came to the Himalaya Mountains and began difficult penance inBadarikashrama.
They continued their penance for one thousand years.And as usual, Indra became
scared. Indra was always insecure about his position as the kingof the gods, so
whenever someone began penance to gain power, he always worriedthat they would
take his throne. Indra brainstormed ways to stop the penance ofNara and
Narayana before they gained too much power.
He decided to approachthem himself andtempt them with boons. Mounting his
elephant Airavata, Indra arrived atBadarikashrama and said, “I am very pleased
with your penance. You have doneenough penance. I have cometo grant you three
boons. Ask for whatever you want, and I will give it toyou.”
But Nara and Narayana didn’t care about Indra’s presence. They weren’t doing
penance to getboons from him. So they just ignored him. Indra repeated his
words, but he gotno response in return. Tired of waiting, Indra began creating
deadlywild animals to scare the two Rishis, but they remained completely
nonchalant.He then created intense rains and blazing fires, but the Rishis
still remainedunaffected. Eventually, Indra gave up and went back to heaven
Indra Sends Kama, theGod of Love
When Indra got back to his palace, he spent more timepondering different means
to distract Nara and Narayana from their penance. He called Kama deva (the god
oflove) and his usual accomplices: his wife Rati and the god of spring,
Vasanta.Indra requested Kama to go with the Apsaras to distractNara and
Narayana. Kama readily agreed and soon reached Badarikashramawith a large
group. They started their usual plan:
First, Vasanta went and made the surroundings appear likespring. All the trees
flowered and the flowers bloomed. Birds began to sing andbees began to hum,
creating a pleasant environment. The Apsaras then beganbeautiful singing in
harmony. Nara and Narayana awoke. They were both thinkingthe same thing: why
did it appear like spring, even though it wasn’tspringtime. They heard
theApsaras singing and they quickly realized that this was most likely
Indra’splot. Indra must have sent these Apsaras to distract them from their
penance.
At this moment, their doubts were confirmed when they sawKama and his entire
entourage, which the eight thousand five hundred Apsaras. Nara and Narayana
knew the trueintentions of the Apsaras. They decided to create a womanfar
superior and far more beautiful than any of these Apsaras to exact
theirrevenge.
The two sages slapped their thighs and suddenly, a woman emerged. Nobodyhad
ever seen someone as beautiful as her. She was the most gorgeouswoman in the
universe. The Apsaras dropped their jaws in shock. They apologizedto Nara and
Narayana, understanding their mistake. Nara and Narayana werepleased and sent
them back to Swarga. The divine creation from thigh named as Urvashi
accompaniedthe rest of the Apsaras to Swarga.
I will continue innext posting
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Thatha_Patty" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/726123971.2080965.1772326090525%40mail.yahoo.com.
