1. Urvashi is regarded as the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer.
18 Facts About Urvashi
1. 2.
Urvashi emerged out of the thigh of sage Narayana and occupies a special place in the court of Indra, the king of the gods and ruler of svarga.
3.
Urvashi is famous for her marriage with Pururavas, the first king of the legendary Chandravamsha, whom she later abandoned.
4.
Urvashi plays a significant part in the birth of Vashishtha and Agastya, two of the most revered sages in Hinduism.
5.
Urvashi's story has been an inspiration for various arts, performances and literature.
6.
Indologist Monier Monier-Williams states that the name means 'widely pervasive' and he suggests that in its first appearances in Vedic texts Urvashi was a personification of dawn.
7.
Urvashi has been dramatized and adapted by many poets and authors.
8.
In Hindu mythology, Urvashi sprang from the divine-sage Narayana's thigh as a fully fledged maiden.
9.
Urvashi advises him to do good deeds to ascend to heaven and reunite with her.
10.
Scholars note that while in Rigveda Urvashi is portrayed as being a self-willed and unyielding woman who married Pururavas for her own desire and abandons him after giving birth to their son, the later adaptations mark her for her love for Pururavas and blame the celestial beings for their separation.
11.
The Post-Vedic texts attest that Urvashi falls in love with handsome and heroic Pururavas and the latter reciprocates his feelings for her.
12.
The Gandharvas then illuminate the place with a bolt of lightning, leading to Urvashi seeing Pururavas naked.
13.
Urvashi is said to have caused the birth of the sage Rishyashringa.
14.
Urvashi's seed comes in contact with a doe, who turns out be an apsara cursed to remain in that form till she gives birth to a boy.
15.
Urvashi gives birth to Rishyashringa, and he is raised by his father.
16.
Urvashi becomes attracted to him and reaches Arjuna's residence adorned in beautiful attire.
17.
Urvashi tells him about her desire, but the latter jilts her advances, considering her to be an ancestor of his, as well as a mother, because of her past marriage to Pururavas.
18.
Urvashi tries to convince him to accept her by telling that Apsaras are free and unconfined in their choice, and they can sport with any man they wish.