Parva 1 Chapter 26: ūrvaśi-purūrava vṛttam - legend of ūravaśi-purūrava

budha’s son is the scholarly purūrava; he is a refulgent and generous king whose vedic rituals are replete with bounties; deigns brahma-theory, a vanquisher, an indomitable one for his enemies in a given battle; one who carried through many vedic rituals, hence an appropriator of ritual-fire for himself, as it were; veracious, considerate, and maintains sexual relations sub rosa; and he remained unparalleled in all the three worlds by his own glory... taṁ brahma-vādinaṁ kṣāntaṁ dharma-jṣaṁ satya-vādinam| urvaśī varayāmāsa hitvā mānaṁ yaśasvinī || 1-26-4 ūrvaśi, the glorious celestial coutesan, fell in love with this purūrava, who is the voucher of brahma, equanimous, prudent, more so a forthright person, without priding herself for her stature of not-so-easy nymphet... tayā saha avasat rājā varṣāṇi [1] daśa [2] paṣcha ca | [3] paṣcha [4] ṣaṭ [5] sapta ca [6] aṣṭau ca [7] daśa ca [8] aṣṭau ca bhārata || 1-26-5 vane [1] chaitra-rathe ramye tathā [2] mandākinī taṭe | [3] alakāyāṁ [4] viśālāyāṁ [5] nandane ca vana-uttame || 1-26-6 [6] uttarān sa kurūn prāpya manoratha-phala-drumān | [7] gandhamādana pādeṣu [8] meru pṛṣṭhe tatha uttare || 1-26-7 The king purūrava spent time with this celestial maid ūrvaśi like this: [1] in the beautiful chaitra-ratha gardens of kubera - 10 yrs; [2] on the banks of River mandākini – 5 yrs; [3] in alakapuri, the city of kubera – 5 yrs; [4] in the city of viśāla [or, badari] – 6 yrs; [5] in the foremost nandana gardens – 7 yrs; [6] in northern-kuru province that is replete with trees yielding whatever fruit desired – 8 yrs; [7] at the foot of Mt. gandhamādana – 10 yrs; [8] and later on Mt. meru – 8 yrs. eteṣu vana-mukhyeṣu suraiḥ ācariteṣu ca | urvaśyā sahito rājā reme paramayā mudā || 1-26-8 King purūrava delightedly spent time with ūrvaśi in these most exalted areas that are highly esteemed even by gods... deshe puṇyatame caiva maharṣibhiḥ abhiṣṭute | rājyaṁ ca kārayāmāsa prayāge pṛthivīpatiḥ || 1-26-9 He has ruled a merited country as well that has been lauded by great sages from city prayāga, its capital... tasya putrā babhūvuḥ te sapta deva-suta-pamāḥ | divi jātā mahātmāna āyuḥ dhīmān amāvasuḥ || 1-26-10 viśvāyuḥ caiva dharmātmā śrutāyuḥ ca tathā aparaḥ | dṛḍhāyuḥ ca vanāyuḥ ca śatāyuḥ ca ūrvaśī sutāḥ || 1-26-11 He begot seven sons through ūrvaśi who are just like the sons of gods as they took birth in heavens... the names of those sons are: āyu, courageous amā-vasu, viśva-āyu, righteous śruta-āyu, likewise dṛḍha-āyu, vana-āyu and śata-āyu... ūrvaśi brought forth these noble sons of purūrava... janamejaya uvāca – janamejaya querried gāndharvī ca ūrvaśī devī rājānaṁ mānuṣaṁ katham | devān utsṛjya saṁprāptā tat naḥ brūhi bahushruta || 1-26-12 “Oh, scholiast, how come a celestial hailing from the abode of gandharvā-s fell in love with a human king... please tell something about it...” vaiśampāyana uvāca – vaiśampāyana replied brahma śāpa abhibhūtā sā mānuṣaṁ samapadyata | ailaṁ tu sā varārohā samayāt samupasthitā || 1-26-13 ātmanaḥ śāpa mokṣa-arthaṁ samayaṁ sā cakāra ha | “Owing to a curse of brahma she met with a human... she stayed with the son of lady ila, say purūrava, only after making some agreements with him... these agreements are in a way are the leading points for her release from the curse... she detailed her conditions like this: a-nagna darśanaṁ caiva sa kāmāyāṁ ca maithunam || 1-26-14 dvau meṣau shayana abhyāśe sadā baddhau ca tiṣṭhataḥ | ghṛta-mātraḥ tatha āhāraḥ kālam-ekaṁ tu pārthiva || 1-26-15 yadi eṣa samayaḥ rājan yāvat kālaṁ ca te dṛḍhaḥ | tāvat kālaṁ tu vatsyāmi tvattaḥ samaya eṣa naḥ || 1-26-16 “Oh, king, you should not show himself to me in nakedness; you should copulate only when I am of a mind; two goats are always to be stationed in the vicinity of my bed; and I just take a lick of ghee, clarified butter, as my single-time food per day... and oh, king, my stay with you will come true, so long as these conditions are met with... these are my terms...” ūrvaśi said so to purūrava. tasyāḥ taṁ samayaṁ sarvaṁ sa rājā samapālayat | evaṁ sā vasate tatra purūravasi bhāminī || 1-26-17 varṣāṇi eko-na-ṣaṣṭiḥ tu tat saktā śāpa mohitā | urvaśyāṁ mānuṣasthāyāṁ gandharvāḥ cintayā anvitāḥ || 1-26-18 King purūrava has not only agreed but effectuated every condition of hers, wherefore that beauty had to consorted with this human king for fifty-nine years under the spell of brahma’s execration... that being so, the celestials, namely gandharvā-s, have been sighing for her absence broached like this: gandharvā ūcuḥ – gandharvā-s said among themselves cintayadhvaṁ mahābhāgā yathā sā tu varāṅganā | samāgacchet punar devān urvaśī svarga-bhūṣaṇam || 1-26-19 “We have to think about the return of that best and blessed ūrvaśi to the heavens of gods... after all, she is the jewel of heaven...” tato viśvāvasuḥ nāma tatra āha vadatāṁ varaḥ | mayā tu samayaḥ tābhyāṁ kriyamāṇaḥ śrutaḥ purā || 1-26-20 vyutkrānta samayaṁ sā vai rājānaṁ tyakṣyate yathā | tat ahaṁ vedmi aśeṣeṇa yathā bhetsyati asau nṛpaḥ || 1-26-21 sa-sahāyo gamiṣyāmi yuṣmākaṁ kārya siddhaye | Then one gandharva, named viśvāvasu, spoke this way, “I eavesdropped the conversation of those two while they are coming to terms... if the king flouts her terms, she will leave off that king... I know fully well as to how she breaks up with that king, hence I will go there with your assistance to get things done...” evam uktvā gataḥ tatra pratiṣṭhānaṁ mahāyaśāḥ || 1-26-22 niśāyām atha ca āgamya meṣam ekaṁ jahāra saḥ | mātṛvat vartate sā tu meṣayoḥ cāru-hāsinī || 1-26 23 gandharva āgamanaṁ śrutvā śāpa antaṁ ca yaśasvinī | rājānam abravit tatra putro me'hriyata iti sā || 1-26-24 Saying so that gandharva viśvāvasu went to the capital of the king, namely pratiṣṭhāna-puram, sneaked in to the bed-chamber of ūrvaśi in night time, and stole one of the two goats staked there... and that charmy-smiler ūrvaśi who tended the goats like a mother understood that the end-time of curse has come, hence some gandharva has come to make her goat to disappear... and then she yelled at the king saying, “my son is stolen...” evam ukto vinishchitya nagno na eva udatiṣṭhata | nagnāṁ māṁ drakṣyate devī samayo vitatho bhavet || 1-26-25 The king did not get up from the bed as he had no cloths on him, and thought, “if she sees me naked, the terms of this lady are infringed...” tato bhūyaḥ tu gandharvā dvitīyaṁ meṣam ādaduḥ | dvitīye tu hṛte meṣe ailaṁ devi abravīt idam || 1-26-26 putro me apahṛto rājan na nāthāyā iva prabho | Again that gandharva stole another goat... when the second goat is also stolen then ūrvaśi carped this way at the son of lady ila, “my son is abducted, my lord, as if none is there to bother for him... evam uktaḥ tatha utthāya nagno rājā pradhāvitaḥ || 1-26-27 meṣayoḥ padam anvicchan gandharvaiḥ vidyut api atha | utpāditā sumahatī yayau tad bhavanaṁ mahat || 1-26-28 prakāśitaṁ vai sahasā tato nagnam avaikṣata | Hearing this cavilling the king got up from the bed and hastened himself to find out the goats... just then the gandharva illuminated the palace-chamber with glaring light with which ūrvaśi suddenly saw the unclad king... nagnaṁ dṛṣṭvā tirobhūtā sā apsarā kāma-rūpiṇī || 1-26-29 utsṛṣṭāu uraṇau dṛṣṭvā rājā gṛhya āgato gṛhe | apashyann urvaśīṁ tatra vilalāpa suduḥkhitaḥ || 1-26-30 On seeing the unrobed king, that apsara, a guise-changer at her will, vanished in to thin air... in the meanwhile that gandharva released those two goats, and the king caught them... but on returning to palace with goats the king did not find ūrvaśi, for which the he is heartbroken and wailed much... uraṇau= two goats. cacāra pṛthivīṁ sarvāṁ mārgamāṇa itaḥ tataḥ | atha apashyat sa tāṁ rājā kurukṣetre mahābalaḥ || 1-26-31 plakṣa-tīrthe puṣkariṇyāṁ haimavatyāṁ samāplutām | krīḍantīm apsarobhiḥ ca paṣchabhiḥ saha śobhanām || 1-26-32 tāṁ krīḍantīṁ tato dṛṣṭvā vilalāpa sa duḥkhitaḥ | purūrava could not find her though he searched for her wandering here and there on whole earth... at last he found her at a lake replete with golden lotuses, called plakṣa-tīrtha, in the province of kurukṣetra, playing water-sports along with five other celestials, and the king purūrava is heartbroken to see her frolicking, just dismissing his from her thoughts... haimavatyāṁ= haimāni, sauvarṇāni padmādīnām... dhārayati - puṣkaraṇi. sā ca api tatra taṁ dṛṣṭvā rājānam avidūrataḥ || 1-26-33 urvaśī tāḥ sakhīḥ prāha sa eṣa puruṣottamaḥ | yasmin aham avātsaṁ vai darśayāmāsa taṁ nṛpam || 1-26-34 She too has seen the king there, not very far from her, and said this to her friends, “He is the great man with whom I have spent some time...” and started showing him to her friends... samāvignāḥ tu tāḥ sarvāḥ punaḥ eva narādhipa | jāye ha tiṣṭha manasā ghore vacasi tiṣṭha ha || 1-26-35 evam ādīni sūktāni parasparam abhāṣata | With a doubt that ūrvaśi may again get away from him along with her friends, that king started talking to her, starting from– ha y* jāye manasā tiṣṭha, ghore, vacāṁsi miśrā- kṛṇavāvahai nu – and there occurred a dialogue between them, as is recorded in the ūrvaśi-purūrava samvāda sūkta of Rig veda... Ridveda, hymn XCV. ūrvaśi-purūrava samvāda sūkta 10-95 – “Ho there, my consort! Stay, thou fierce-souled lady, and let us reason for a while together...” urvaśī ca abravīt ailaṁ sa-garbhāhaṁ tvayā prabho || 1-26-36 saṁvatsarāt kumārāḥ te bhaviṣyanti na saṁśayaḥ | niśām ekāṁ ca nṛpate nivatsyasi mayā saha || 1-26-37 Then ūrvaśi saiud to purūrava, the son of lady aila, “I am carrying your seed in my womb, my lord, and you can spend one night’s time every year with me, whereby can have sons each year...” so said ūrvaśi to purūrava, and vanished... hṛṣṭo jagāma rāja atha sva-puraṁ tu mahāyaśāḥ | gate saṁvatsare bhūya urvaśī punar āgamat || 1-26-38 Gladdened king returned to his city abnd when one year has paseed ūrvaśi came to him, as promised... uṣitaḥ ca tayā sārdham eka rātraṁ mahāyaśāḥ | urvashya atha abravīt ailaṁ gandharvā varadāḥ tava || 1-26-39 tān vṛṇīṣva mahārāja brūhi ca enāṁ tvam eva hi | vṛṇīṣva samatāṁ rājan gandharvāṇāṁ mahātmanām || 1-26-40 ūrvaśi had been coming and staying with the king for a night per year, and on one occasion she said to the king, “pleased with you, the gandharvā-s would like to grant a boon to you, my lord, hence you may seek it directly from them... but, I would like you to seek a selfsame stature of gandharva-s for yourself... ...ṣo that we can continue our relations in heaven also...” samata = sālokyam, sārūpyam= coequality. tatha iti uktvā varaṁ vavre gandharvāḥ ca tatha astu iti | pūrayitvā agninā sthālīṁ gandharvāḥ ca tam abruvan || 1-26-41 Saying ‘alright’ to ūrvaśi king purūrava sought a stature similar to that of gandharvā-s, and saying ‘alright’ to purūrava, the gandharvā-s brought a vessel filled with ritual-fire and said to him... anena iṣṭvā ca lokān naḥ prāpsyasi tvaṁ narādhipa | tān ādāya kumārāṁ tu nagarāya upacakrame || 1-26-42 “Oh, king, if you worship this fire you will attain our heavens...” and purūrava taking that fire and his sons started return journey to his city... nikṣipya agnim araṇye tu sa putraḥ tu gṛhaṁ yayau | sa treta-agniṁ tu na apashyat aśvatthaṁ tatra dṛṣṭavān || 1-26-43 Thinking that his entry into city with children in hand and fire-pot in trhe orther would be ridiculous, he securely placed fire-pot on the floor and took the children home... again returned to that place to take the fire-pot, but to his surprise he saw a peeple tree, ashvattha tree, instead of fire-pot... śamī jātaṁ tu taṁ dṛṣṭvā aśvatthaṁ vismitaḥ tadā | gandharvebhyaḥ tada aśaṁsad agni nāśaṁ tatastu saḥ || 1-26-44 Astonishing to see the fire extinguished to take up the form of a peeple tree, he consulted with the gandharvā-s about it... śrutvā tam artham akhilam araṇīṁ tu samādiśat | aśvatthāt araṇīṁ kṛtvā mathitvā agniṁ yathāvidhi || 1-26-45 mathitvā agniṁ tridhā kṛtvā ayajatsa narādhipaḥ | iṣṭvā yajṣaiḥ bahu-vidhaiḥ gataḥ teṣāṁ salokatām || 1-26-46 Then the gandharvā-s advised him to take two sticks of that peeple tree, to rub one against the other, for producing fire... the king did so and produced fire from wood... in such a way making fire from sticks, he trifurcated the ritual fire as gārhapatya, āhavanīya, and dākśintya agni-s and then performed many vedic rituals with that fire... gandharvebhyo varaṁ labdhvā tretāgniṁ samakārayat | ekaḥ agniḥ pūrvam eva āsīt ailaḥ tretām akārayat || 1-26-47 Originally Ritual fire was one, but purūrava trifurcated it getting a boon from gandharvās... evaṁ prabhāvo rāja āsīt ailaḥ tu narasattama | deshe puṇyatame caiva maharṣibhiḥ abhiṣṭute || 1-26-48 rājyaṁ sa kārayāmāsa prayāge pṛthivīpatiḥ | uttare jāhnavī tīre pratiṣṭhāne mahāyaśāḥ || 1-26-49 Such an efficacious king is that best one among men, namely purūrava, the son of ila, and he ruled from the most merited capital prayāga, which is extolled by great sages, and which is situated on the northern bank of river ganga... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi aila utpattiḥ nāma [yadvā - ūrvaśi-purūravasovṛttam nāma] ṣaḍviṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the twenty-sixth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of ūrvaśi and purūrava. --o)0(o--