Urvasi

Urvasi and Pururavas. Painting by Raji Ravi Varma .

Urvasi ( Urvaśī ^IAST ) - Apsara , described in Hindu texts and legends. Urvasi served at the court of Indra and was the most beautiful of all the Apsaras. She became the wife of the ancient Indian ruler of the Lunar Dynasty Pururavas . Urvasi is mentioned in the Vedic text “ Satapatha-brahmana ” 11.5.1, as well as in the final 36 chapter of “ Natyashastra ” and is the heroine of the play “ Vikramorvasi ” by the great Indian poet and playwright Kalidasa . Urvasi is forever young and unusually beautiful, but at the same time elusive. ^[1] She is the source of both great joy and great suffering. ^[2]

There are several versions of the legend of the birth of Urvasi. The most famous of them is described in the Bhagavata Purana . Once, the twin rishis of Nara-Narayana meditated at the holy pilgrimage site of Badrinath in the Himalayas . A long meditation and severe austerities conducted by the sages disturbed the virgins , who feared that in this way Nara-Narayana would soon receive divine powers and become equal in power to them. Intending to interrupt their meditation, awakening lust in their hearts, the king of the virgins Indra sent two most beautiful apsaras from the heavenly planets to the sages. At the sight of the heavenly courtesans, Narayana plucked a flower, laid it on his hip and, with the help of his mystical power, turned it into a beautiful apsara of Urvasi. With her beauty, she completely overshadowed the two Apsaras sent by Indra. In great shame, the Apsaras returned to Indra's heavenly abode. Together with them, Indra Narayana sent Urvasi as a gift, which became the most important apsara at his court.

According to one legend, once upon seeing the beautiful Urvasi, Mitra and Varuna spewed a seed, which they stored in a clay pot. From this pot two sages subsequently were born: Agastya and Vasishtha .