https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=PururavasPururavas - Revision history2026-11-15T21:22:26ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pururavas&diff=141079&oldid=previmported>AshLin: /* top */ cp eds. Lead is misleading by omission, looks like that of a historical figure.2021-08-21T03:43:26Z<p><span class="autocomment">top: </span> cp eds. Lead is misleading by omission, looks like that of a historical figure.</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}<br />
{{short description|Legendary king in ancient India}}<br />
{{Infobox deity<br />
| type= Hindu<br />
| image = Pururavas.jpg<br />
| alt = Pururavas<br />
| caption = ''Pururavas in sadness'', a scene from [[Kalidasa]]'s Vikramorvashiyam<br />
| parents = {{unbulleted list|[[Ila (Hinduism)|Ilā]] (mother)|[[Budha]] (father)}}<br />
| spouse = [[Urvashi]] <br />
| children = [[Characters in the Mahabharata#Ayu|Ayu]], Amavasu, Vishvayu or Vanayus, Shrutayu or Dhimat, Shatayu (or Satayu), and Dridhayu<br />
| texts = [[Mahabharata]], [[Rigveda]], [[Vikramōrvaśīyam]], [[Purana]]s<br />
| affiliation = [[King in Mahabharata]]<br />
| gender = Male <br />
| dynasty = [[Chandravanshi]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Pururavas''' ([[Sanskrit]]: पुरूरवस्, ''Purūravas'') was a mythological king, the first of the [[Aila dynasty]] or the ''chandravamsha''. According to the [[Veda]]s, he is a legendary entity associated with [[Surya]] (the sun) and [[Ushas|Usha]] (the dawn), and is believed to reside in the middle region of the cosmos. The Rig Veda (X.95.18) states that he was a son of [[Ila (Hinduism)| Ilā]]<ref>Misra, V.S. (2007). ''Ancient Indian Dynasties'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN|81-7276-413-8}}, p.57</ref> and was a pious ruler. However, the ''Mahabharata'' states that Ila was both his mother and his father. According to the ''Vishnu Purana'', his father was [[Budha]], and he was ancestor of the tribe of Pururavas, from whom descended the [[Yadava]]s, [[Kauravas]] and [[Pandavas]] of Mahābhārata.<br />
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==Legends==<br />
===Birth and Early Life===<br />
Pururavas was born in [[Treta Yuga]] as the son of Budha and Ila. Budha was the son of [[Chandra]], the moon god and thus Pururavas was the first Chandravanshi King. Since he was born on Mount Puru, he was called Pururavas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2015-07-13|title=Pururavas, Purūravas: 9 definitions|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pururavas|access-date=2020-09-02|website=www.wisdomlib.org}}</ref><br />
===Reign===<br />
According to the [[Puranas]], Pururavas reigned from [[Pratisthana]] (Prayag<ref>Wilson, H.H. (1840). ''The Vishnu Purana'', Book IV, Chapter I, footnote 7.</ref>). He performed a penance to Lord [[Brahma]] and as a reward, he was made the sovereign of the whole earth. Pururavas celebrated a hundred Ashwamedha Yajnas. The ''Asuras'' were his followers while, the ''Devas'' were his friends. <br />
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According to the [[Mahabharata]], Pururavas was the one to bring three kinds of fire on the earth (for sacrificial purpose) from the region of [[Gandharvas]], where he met [[Urvashi]] and fell in love with her. <br />
In the Sambhava Parva, Pururavas is said to be intoxicated with his powers, and he quarreled with the Brahmanas. [[Sanatkumara]] came from the region of [[Brahma]] to counsel him. But Pururavas turned deaf ear to the counsel. Angered by this, the sages cursed Pururavas and he was destroyed.<br />
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===Pururavas and Urvashi===<br />
<!--Partially copied from Urvashi article--><br />
[[Image:Urvashi-Pururavas by RRV.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[Urvashi]] and Pururavas, a painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]]]<br />
Once [[Pururavas]], founder of lunar dynasty, and Urvashi fell in love with each other. Pururavas asked her to become his wife, but she agreed on three or two conditions. The most retold conditions are that Pururavas would protect Urvashi's pet sheep and they would never see one another naked (apart from love making).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blush.me/unwind/the-tragic-love-story-of-urvashi-an-apsara-and-king-pururavas-a-mortal|title = Blush.me}}</ref> <br />
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Pururavas agreed the conditions and they lived happily. [[Indra]] started missing Urvashi and he created circumstances where the conditions were broken. First he sent some Gandharvas to kidnap the sheep, when the couple was making love. When Urvashi heard her pets' cries, she scolded Pururavas for not keeping his promise. Hearing her harsh words, Pururavas forgot that he was naked and ran after the sheep. Just then, Indra <br />
flashed lightings and Urvashi saw her husband naked. After the events, Urvashi returned to heaven and left Pururavas heartbroken. Urvashi used to come on earth and bore Pururavas many children, but they were not completely reunited.<br />
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==Descendants==<br />
He had six (or seven or eight according to different accounts) sons. The names of these sons are: Ayu (or Ayus), Amavasu,<ref>Pargiter, F.E. (1972). ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp.85–6.</ref> Vishvayu, Shrutayu, Shatayu (or Satayu), and Dridhayu. [[Nahusha]], the son of Ayu, is a well-known name in the ''Rigveda''.<ref>Misra, V.S. (2007). ''Ancient Indian Dynasties'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN|81-7276-413-8}}, pp.59–61</ref><br />
==Narrative of Urvashi and Purūravas==<br />
The earlier version of the narrative of Urvashi and Pururavas is found in the ''Rigveda'' (X.95.1–18) and the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana|Śatapaṭha Brāhmaṇa]]'' (XI.5.1). The later versions are found in the [[Mahābhārata]], the [[Harivamsa|Harivaṃsa]], the [[Vishnu Purana|Viṣṇu Purāṇa]], the [[Matsya Purana|Matsya Purāṇa]],<ref name=dandekar>Dandekar, R.N. (1962). ''Indian Mythology'' in S. Radhakrishnan ed. ''The Cultural Heritage of India'', Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, {{ISBN|81-85843-03-1}}, pp.229–30, 230ff</ref> and the [[Bhāgavata Purāṇa]].<br />
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===In Vedic literature===<br />
The Ṛg-veda, X.129 contains a conversational fragment, written in a highly wrought poetic style. The hymn suggests that Uṣas (also known as Urvaśi) is a ''[[Gandharva|Gandharvi]]'' or ''[[Apsara]]'' (a heavenly nymph). Having been united with a human king, Purūravas, and after living together for four autumns, suddenly left him on his unintentional violation of the stipulated conditions of the union. Later Purūravas made futile entreaties to her to return to him.<ref name=dandekar/><br />
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The narrative displays multiple levels of symbolism by playing on the multiplicity of meanings in the Vedic Saṃskṛt terms. While it is a love poem, expressing the conflict of interest between a lover and his beloved, who spurns his love, it also expresses the immortal relationship between the Sun (Purūravas) and the Dawn (Uṣas). In addition to these two levels of meaning, it also offers mantric prescriptions for a ritual activity bent on taking rebirth as a Gandharva or Apsaras.<br />
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===In Later Literature===<br />
The love story of king Pururavas and celestial nymph [[Urvashi]] is found in the [[Sanskrit drama]], ''[[Vikramōrvaśīyam]]'', written by the celebrated poet [[Kalidasa]]. The story is more dramatized like the addition of Pururavas another wife and with variations from the original story.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kalidasa|url=http://archive.org/details/vikramorvasyam00kalirich|title=The Vikramorvasîyam, a drama in 5 acts|last2=Pandit|first2=Shankar Pandurang|date=1879|publisher=Bombay, Government Central Book Depôt|others=University of California Libraries}}</ref><br />
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[[Gudipati Venkata Chalam]] has authored the drama ''Purūravä'', which has gained critical acclaim with the [[Telugu people|Telugu]] audience. This drama has been modernized in ''Purūravä'', an animated version of the drama released in Amazon Prime in US and UK.<br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
*''A Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion'' by [[John Dowson]]<br />
*Gaur, R. C. “The Legend of Purūravas and Urvaśī: An Interpretation.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 2, 1974, pp. 142–152. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25203565. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020.<br />
*Wright, J. C. “Purūravas and Urvaśī.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 30, no. 3, 1967, pp. 526–547. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/612386. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020.<br />
*"‘Cupid, Psyche, and the “Sun-Frog”’, Custom and Myth: (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1884)." In The Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Selected Writings of Andrew Lang, Volume 1: Anthropology, Fairy Tale, Folklore, The Origins of Religion, Psychical Research, edited by Teverson Andrew, Warwick Alexandra, and Wilson Leigh, 66-78. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. Accessed June 6, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt16r0jdk.9.<br />
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==External links==<br />
*{{Commonscatinline}}<br />
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{{HinduMythology}}<br />
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[[Category:Characters in Hindu mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Lunar dynasty]]<br />
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]</div>imported>AshLin