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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{short description|Celestial nymph in Hinduism}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| Devanagari = उर्वशी
| image = File:Urvashi.jpg
| alt = Urvashi
| caption = Urvashi leaving her husband Pururavas, a chromolithograph by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]
| abode = [[Amaravati (mythology)|Amaravati]], [[Svarga]]
| children = {{ubl|[[Vasishtha]] and [[Agastya]] from [[Mitra]]-[[Varuna]]|[[Ayus]] and five other sons from Pururavas}}
| type = Hindu
| gender = Female
| affiliation = [[Apsara]]
| spouse = [[Pururavas]]
}}
'''Urvashi''' ({{lang-sa|उर्वशी|Urvaśī|}}) is an [[apsara]] (celestial nymph) in [[Hindu mythology]]. She is considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras and an expert dancer. Urvashi is mentioned in many ''[[Vedic]]'' and ''[[Puranic]]'' scriptures of Hinduism.

==Etymology==
The [[Sanskrit]] name ''"Urvaśī"'' can have multiple meanings. It is derived from roots{{mdash}}''uru'' and ''aś''.<ref name = "M" /> Some believe that the name has non-[[Aryan]] origin.<ref name="Devdasi">{{Cite book|last=Jamanadas|first=K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GYwAAAAYAAJ&q=urvashi+uru+thigh+heart|title=Devadasis: Ancient to Modern|date=2007|publisher=Kalpaz Publications|isbn=978-81-7835-547-4|language=en}}</ref>

According to the scripture ''[[Devi Bhagavata Purana]]'', the apsara is known as Urvashi because she is born from the ''uru''—'thigh'—of the divine-sage [[Nara Narayana|Narayan]].<ref name="Lavanya">{{Cite book|last=VEMSANI|first=LAVANYA|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56QvEAAAQBAJ&q=urvashi+uru+thigh&pg=PA232|title=FEMININE JOURNEYS OF THE MAHABHARATA: Hindu Women in History, Text, and Practice|date=2021|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-030-73165-6|language=en}}</ref> Indologist [[Monier Monier-Williams]] proposes a different etymology in which the name means 'widely pervasive' and he suggests that in its first appearances in Vedic texts Urvashi was a personification of dawn.<ref name = "M" >{{Cite book|last1=Monier-Williams|first1=Sir Monier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUezTfym7CAC&q=Urvasi|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages|last2=Leumann|first2=Ernst|last3=Cappeller|first3=Carl|date=1899|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House|isbn=978-81-208-3105-6|language=en}}</ref>

==Textual sources==
Urvashi is the only apsara to be specially named in the ''[[Rigveda]]'' (c. 2500–1500 BCE). A dialogue between her and her husband [[Pururavas]] is mentioned in ''Rigveda'' [[Mandala 10]]. In the dialogue, Pururavas requests Urvashi not to leave him.<ref name="AW">{{Cite book|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsE5KAja3jAC&q=Urvashi|title=Woman in Indian Sculpture|date=2006|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-474-5|language=en}}</ref><ref name = "Gaur" >{{Cite journal|last=Gaur|first=R. C.|date=1974|title=The Legend of Purūravas and Urvaśī: An Interpretation|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25203565|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|volume=106|issue=2|pages=142–152|doi=10.1017/S0035869X00131983|jstor=25203565|issn=0035-869X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Jan 20|first1=Devdutt PattanaikDevdutt Pattanaik / Updated|last2=2019|last3=Ist|first3=06:00|title=Three Vedic women|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/three-vedic-women/articleshow/67606150.cms|access-date=2021-07-01|website=Mumbai Mirror|language=en}}</ref> The legend of Urvashi is retold and expanded in many later [[Hindu scriptures]], including the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'', ''[[Brihaddevata]]'', ''[[Mahabharata]]'', ''[[Ramayana]]'', ''[[Harivamsa]]'', ''[[Vayu Purana]]'', ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'', ''[[Matsya Purana]]'', ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]]'', ''[[Padma Purana]]'' and ''[[Skanda Purana]]''.<ref name = "Gaur" /><ref name = "Lavanya" /><ref name="UP">{{Cite journal|last=Kantawala|first=S. G.|date=1976|title=PURŪRAVAS-URVAŚĪ EPISODE : A STUDY IN VEDICO - PURĀṆIC CORRELATES|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41692233|journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute|volume=57|issue=1/4|pages=49–58|jstor=41692233|issn=0378-1143}}</ref>

Urvashi has been dramatized and adapted by many poets and authors. Many scholars state that her most popular appearance is in the drama ''[[Vikramorvashiyam]]'' by the [[Sanskrit poet]] [[Kalidasa]] (fl. 4th–5th century CE).<ref name = "UP" /><ref name = "Gaur" /> Indian author and freedom fighter [[Rabindranath Tagore]] (1861–1941) has also written a poem about Urvashi.<ref name="Dalal">{{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=urvashi&pg=PA433|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=George|first=K. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&q=urvashi&pg=PA481|title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems|date=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-324-0|language=en}}</ref>

==Legends==
===Birth===
[[File:Nara Narayana Deogarh.jpg|thumb|A relief depicting Narayana (left) and Nara (right), [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh]], ca. 5th century CE]]
Urvashi's birth is narrated in the ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]]''. In the legend, the brothers [[Nara-Narayana|Nara and Narayana]] are performing penance to please the creator god [[Brahma]], but this makes [[Indra]] (the king of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]]) insecure about his throne and he does not want the sage to acquire divine powers. As a result, he creates multiple illusions to break their penance, but all of his tricks fails. Finally, he orders the apsaras of his court, including [[Rambha (apsara)|Rambha]], [[Menaka]] and [[Tilottama]], to go to Nara-Narayana and distract them through seduction.<ref name = "Mani" />

Accompanied by love god [[Kama (god)|Kama]] and lust goddess [[Rati]], the apsaras go to Nara-Narayana and start to dance seductively in front of them. However, the sages remain unaffected by this and decide to break the pride of the apsaras. Narayana slaps his thigh, from which Urvashi emerges. Her beauty leaves Indra’s apsaras matchless and they become ashamed of their evil act. Nara and Narayana ensure Indra that they wouldn't take his throne and gift Urvashi to him. She occupied the place of pride in [[Indra]]’s court.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Birth of Urvashi - Indian Mythology|url=http://www.apamnapat.com/articles/Devibhagavata025.html|access-date=2020-09-02|website=www.apamnapat.com}}</ref><ref>''The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine'' By Devdutt Pattanaik, Published 2000, Inner Traditions / Bear & Company, 176 pages, {{ISBN|0-89281-807-7}} p.66</ref><ref name="Mani">{{Cite book|last=Mani|first=Vettam|url=https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/811/mode/1up|title=Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature|date=1975|publisher=Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|page=811}}</ref>

===As Pururavas's wife===
Once Urvashi and [[Pururavas]], founder of the lunar dynasty, 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 lovemaking).<ref>https://www.blush.me/unwind/the-tragic-love-story-of-urvashi-an-apsara-and-king-pururavas-a-mortal</ref>

Pururavas agreed with the conditions and they lived happily. [[Indra]] started missing Urvashi and he created circumstances where the conditions were broken. First, he sent some [[Gandharva]]s 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 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.

Their love story is found in the [[Rigveda]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kulasrestha|first=Mahendra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OIoRWGSfMikC&q=urvashi+pururava&pg=PA213|title=The Golden Book of Rigveda|date=2006|publisher=Lotus Press|isbn=978-81-8382-010-3|pages=213|language=en}}</ref> and [[Shatapatha Brahmana]] too. [[Kalidasa]]'s drama ''[[Vikramōrvaśīyam]]'' is about their love story with variations from the original texts.<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>

===Birth of Vasishtha and Agastya===
Urvashi is said to be the "mother" of the [[Vedic sages]]—[[Vasishtha]] and [[Agastya]]. There are multiple accounts of this legend. In the ''Rigveda'', the gods [[Varuna]] and [[Mitra (Hindu god)|Mitra]] perform a ''[[yajna]]'' (fire-sacrifice), where Urvashi arrives in front of them. After seeing her, they become sexually aroused and ejaculate their semen into a pitcher from which Vasishtha and Agastya are born. Similar accounts of this story appears in the ''Brihaddevata'', ''Matsya Purana'' and other scriptures.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Patton|first=Laurie L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUZbDAAAQBAJ&q=agastya+vasistha+urvasi&pg=PA413|title=Myth as Argument: The Brhaddevata as Canonical Commentary|date=2014-05-14|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=978-3-11-081275-6|language=en}}
</ref><ref name = "Goodman" >
{{Cite book|last=Goodman|first=Hananya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XF_a3cfrcLQC&q=agastya+vasistha+urvasi+rgveda&pg=PA218|title=Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism|date=2012-02-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0437-0|language=en}}</ref>

In a different version is found in some later text, Mitra and Varuna are in one body when they see Urvashi on a seashore. After embracing her, the gods separate themselves into two bodies. Varuna desires to have union with Urvashi and goes to her with his wish. Though Urvashi is attracted to him, she rejects him and instead has a union with Mitra, whom she has already promised. To satisfy his lust, Varuna has seminal flow, and the seed is transferred into a pot. After union, Mitra's semen fells from Urvashi's womb onto the earth and it also transferred into the same pot. After few days, the twins, Vashishtha and Agastya, are born.<ref name="Mitra">{{Cite book|last=Obbink|first=Hendrik Willem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9NMUAAAAIAAJ&q=urvasi+mitra&pg=PA122|title=Orientalia Rheno-traiectina|publisher=Brill Archive|language=en}}</ref><ref name = "Mani5" >{{Cite book|last=Mani|first=Vettam|url=https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/5/mode/1up|title=Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature|date=1975|publisher=Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|page=5}}</ref> The ''Devi Bhagavata Purana'' retells the story with some variations. In this text, the sage Mitravaruna is aroused by Urvashi, and after the birth of Vasishtha and Agastya, she is cursed by him.<ref name = "Mani" /><ref name = "Goodman" />

===Other lovers===
[[File:Arjuna and Urvasee (Urvashi).jpg|thumb|Arjuna refusing Uravshi's advances, a print by B P Banerjee.]]
In some texts, [[Urvashi]] is said to have caused the birth of the sage [[Rishyashringa]]. In the ''Mahabharata'', Urvashi is enjoying herself on the banks of a river, when [[Vibhandaka]], son of [[Kashyapa]], sees her. He becomes enchanted by her beauty and has seminal emission. His semen comes in contact with a doe (a cursed apsara in some versions) which impregnates her and she later gives birth to Rishyashringa.<ref name = "Mani" />

She is also mentioned in the ''Mahabharata'', as the celestial dancer of Indra's palace. When [[Arjuna]] had come for obtaining weapons from his father [[Indra]], his eyes fell upon Urvaśī. Indra seeing this sent [[Chitrasena]] to address Urvasi to wait upon Arjuna. Hearing the virtues of Arjuna, Urvasi was filled with desire. At twilight, she reached Arjuna's abode. As soon as Arjuna saw that beauty at night in her room in beautiful attire, from fear, respect, modesty, and shyness he saluted her with closed eyes. She told Arjuna everything and also of her heart desire. But Arjuna refused, as considering her to his superior of old, and said that she was like his mother because of her past marriage to Pururavas. In wrath, she cursed Arjuna for destitute of manhood and scorned as a [[eunuch]] for a year. This curse helped Arjuna during his Agyatvās.<ref>https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03046.htm</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*[[John Dowson|Dowson, John]]. ''A Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion''.
*{{Cite book | last = Vijnanananda| first = Swami | author-link = Swami Vijnanananda| year = 2004 | pages = 624 | title = The Sri Mad Devi Bhagavatam: Books One Through Twelve Part 1 | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | isbn = 0-7661-8167-7 }}
*“Urvaśī and the Swan Maidens: The Runaway Wife.” In Search of the Swan Maiden: A Narrative on Folklore and Gender, by Barbara Fass Leavy, NYU Press, NEW YORK; LONDON, 1994, pp. 33–63. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg995.5. Accessed 23 Apr. 2020.
*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.
*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.
*"‘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.
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Hindu apsaras}}
{{HinduMythology}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category: Characters in epic poems]]
[[Category: Apsara]]
[[Category: Characters in the Mahabharata]]

Urvashi - Revision history

FerminDodson605 at 20:16, 31 August 2025

UpdateBot at 15:27, 19 April 2022

imported>Frietjes at 18:57, 18 August 2021