The overwhelming passion of Urvashi and Pururavas

Urvashi

Do you remember Urvashi, the beautiful and sensual apsara born from the thigh of the wise man Narayana who now gladdens the living room of my house? Well, this is her tormented and passionate love affair with the king Pururavas.

The king Pururavas accidentally met the beautiful Urvashi and he fell madly in love only to see her.

The beautiful apsara agreed to marry the strong king, but only under three conditions. First of all, she would carry with her the lambs from which she never separated, secondly she should never have to see the king naked except during sexual intercourse and then she would be powered exclusively by drinking a drop of ghee, clarified butter.

The King - blinded with love - accepted all the conditions and married Urvashi.

The two lived together for four years, a sweeping love story, joining carnally every day for three times. But the beautiful Urvashi was required elsewhere.

The gandharvas, the heavenly musicians who live in the paradise of Indra, wanted her again and concocted a plan to stop that love so passionate.

At night they went to the home of Pururavas trying to steal lambs Urvashi. These began to bleat, woke Pururavas who - in order to save them - got up from the bed completely naked. At that moment, the gandharvas did crash in the sky a lightning that lit up everything as if it was day, allowing Urvashi to see her husband naked. Immediately the beautiful apsara vanished.

Pururavas despaired nights and days, he began to travel the length and breadth of the earth to find his lost bride, until one day he came to a lake where some beautiful swans were swimming. They were apsara Urvashi and her friends.

Urvashi could not resist and showed herself in her human forms to beloved husband.

Pururavas at the sight of his wife, begged her to return to him, but she - as stated in the Rig Veda (X, 95) -  denied, "back into your kingdom, I'm gone I like the dawn flees when he sees the sun, for you are now unreachable, unattainable as is the wind. "

But in the end, moved to compassion by the king who had also threatened to kill himself, Urvashi sends him back home, promising to meet again a year later.

Pururavas waited faithfully for a year on the day of the appointment, then having gone from Urvashi found her with Ayus, their first child.

The lovers embraced passionately and made love until Urvashi sent back the groom asking him to be faithful and giving appointment for the following year.

Pururavas waited another year and so for five years. Every year the two met, made love and conceived a child. Five sons in all.

The gandharvas were amazed at love, fidelity and perseverance of Puraravas and granted him to live with his beloved Urvashi.

The love between Pururavas and Urvashi remained paradigmatic for passion so that the two arani, that the sticks that were used to light the sacrificial fire by rubbing take their name from the two passionate lovers.