Durvasa ( Skt. दुर्वास - “(with which) it is difficult to live”, from dur- “bad”, “bad” and vāsa II “dwelling”, “dwelling”, “house” or “(c) bad clothes”, from dur - “bad”, “bad” and vāsa I “clothes”) - the Vedic sage ascetic , an angry hermit, the keeper of traditional norms of behavior and etiquette. It is believed that he was the son of Rishis Atri and Anasuyi . The Sri Guru Charitra says that Durvasa was the incarnation of Shiva . Durvasa is the only rishi, whose punya increases every time he curses someone. The curses given to them destroyed the lives of many people, therefore, wherever he went, he was received with great reverence.
The Vishnu Purana describes how Durvasa cursed Sakuntala , who did not show due respect for him; it also describes the story of how he cursed Indra , temporarily depriving him of power over the world because he neglected the garland given to him by Durvasa. The Mahabharata describes that Durvasa foretold the death of Krishna when he, having shown Durvasa hospitality, forgot to wipe food traces from his feet. It also describes the story of how Durvasa awarded Kunti with a special gift to summon any maiden from whom she would like to have a son.
The Story of Ambarishi and Durvasa
The Bhagavata Purana describes the story of Durvasa and the great Vaisnava Maharaja Ambarishi .
The son of Manu Nabhagi had a son, Ambarish - a very powerful and illustrious king. Although Ambarisa ruled the whole world, he did not consider his wealth to be eternal, and, realizing that all material wealth only leads to a fall and prolongs material existence, he was not attached to them. He took up all his senses and mind in the service of Krsna . Since Ambarisa was an emperor and possessed innumerable wealth, he worshiped Krishna with great pomp, and despite his wealth was not attached to his wife, children, and the kingdom. He did not even seek liberation .
Once Ambarisa worshiped Krsna in Vrndavana , observing the vow of Ekadashi . The day after the Ekadashi, Ambarisa was about to interrupt the post, as a guest, the great mystic yogi, Durvasa, came to his house. Ambarisa adequately received Durvasa and offered him lunch. Agreeing, Durvasa went to the Yamuna River to take a day bath. There he plunged into meditation and did not return for a long time. Ambarisa, seeing that the time for interrupting the Ekadashi fasting was about to expire, followed the advice of the Rishis Vasishtha and completed the fast by eating a piece of tulasi and drinking some water. Durvasa, possessing mystical abilities, realized what had happened, and was terribly angry. When he returned, he began to severely report to Ambarish, but this was not enough for him, and then he created a huge demon from his hair, like an all-devouring fire. Here, Vishnu, in order to save his devotee, sent his disk to the scene, Sudarshan-chakra , who immediately destroyed the fiery demon and rushed to the offending Ambarish Durvasa. Durvasa tried to hide on Brahmalok, Shivalok and other higher planets, but could not defend himself against the wrath of the Sudarsana Chakra. In the end, he got to the spiritual world of Vaikuntha and fell at the feet of Narayana , who informed him that he was not able to forgive the one who insulted the Vaisnava. Forgiveness for such a sin a person should ask the Vaisnava himself, whom he offended. Therefore, Narayana advised Durvasa to return to Ambarisa and ask him for forgiveness, which he did.
According to Sri Guru Charitra , the ending of this story is slightly different:
When Durvasa returned from the river, he learned that Ambarisa had a sip of water. He took it as a personal insult and fell into a rage. He cursed Ambarisa in such a way that he would be born many times in the lower caste. Then Ambarisa began to pray to Vishnu, who immediately appeared. Ambarisa fell at his feet and prayed: “Oh Lord, the sage cursed me, although I am innocent. You are the protector of the devotees. You must protect me from this misfortune. " Vishnu turned to Durvasa and said: “Oh Muni, why did you curse my devotee for no reason? The words of a man like you must be true. Therefore, I myself must experience the effects of this curse sent to my devotee. " Durvasa said: “Oh Lord, your concern for your devotee has given us the opportunity to directly see You. Give us confidence that you will visit the earth ten times, protect righteousness and destroy vice. ” So Ananta Rupa Narayan took ten incarnations, some of which are known, some are hidden and secret. Only Brahma jnani can know about them. Dattatreya is one such embodiment.