Apsaras or the dancers from heaven are known for being sent down to Earth to distract rishis, munis, saints and sadhus involved in intense meditation or (tapasya). This was their major part of job – look gorgeous and amuse noble saints. But did you know there was one celestial nymph (again apsara) who had fallen in love?
We are talking about Apsara Urvashi who had a great love story in fact. Puruva was the king of lunar dynasty or Chandravansh and Urvashi was a beautiful dancer at the Indra Dev’s court. Her love story actually starts with a curse. Not many of you would know that she was cursed by Maitre and Varuna to spend time on earth.
Once Puruva saw Urvashi on Mount Gandhamadan. She had come there to enjoy earthly pleasures such as feel the wet dew under her feet and the soft breeze against her body. When Puruva saw her, he fell in love with her. He asked her to marry him. But Urvashi put three conditions before him.
- Two sheep will always remain close to her bed. If, by any chance, the sheep is not there, she would return to heaven.
- She would never see the king naked, and
- She would be served ghee as her food.
She spent 60,000 years with Puruva. However, like all good things, this love story had to end. Gandharva started feeling the absence of Urvashi. They knew the conditions put forth by Urvashi to Puruva.
One night they stole the two sheep. Urvashi cried for help when she did not find her sheep. Puruva was sleeping and he ran after the Gandharvas with no clothes on him. Gandharvas also knew how to create fire and at the same time when the king was running naked, they lit the fire and thus the second condition was also breached.
During this whole commotion, she was also not given the ghee diet. This all conditions broken, she returned to heaven.