Book 1/Chapter 13/Verse 1-34
On Urvas’î and Pururavâ
1-34. Sûta said :-- O Maharsis. ! When
the king Sudyumna had gone up to heavens, the religious king Pururavâ, endowed
with great beauty and many qualities, and able to please the minds of his
subjects began to govern his kingdom well, according to Dharma, with his heart
intent on governing his people. Nobody
knew what his counsel was, but he was very clever in knowing others' counsels. He was always highly energetic and his lordly power was great. The four methods of warfare, (1)
conciliation, (2) giving gifts, (3) sowing dissensions and (4) war, were fully
under his control. He saw that his
subjects practised religion according to Varnâs'ram (Colours and stages of
life), and thus he began to govern his kingdom.
Pururavâ, the lord of men, performed various sacrifices with abundance
of Daksinâs (sacrificial fees) and also gave away much in various charities,
causing great wonder and astonishment.
His extraordinary beauty and qualities,
liberality and good nature, his unbounded wealth and prowess made the Apsarâ
Urvas’î (celestial nymph) think of him often and she wanted him to satisfy her. Some time passed when that procud Urvas'î had
to descend on this earth, due to a curse pronounced on her by a Brâhmin; and
she chose the king Pururavâ as her husband, thinking him to be endowed
with all the qualities. She then
addressed the king and made the following contract :-- “O king, giving honour
due to every body! I keep these two young
sheep in trust and deposit with you; kindly look after these and, then, my
honour will be preserved by you. O king. ! I
will take ghee daily and nothing else for my food; and there is one word more;
O king. ! Let me not see you naked, except when you hold
sexual intercourse. O king I say this
truly, that, in case there be any breach in this contract I will instantly
leave you and go away.” The king accepted this contract of Urvas’î. Urvas’î, too, remained there according to the
above contract and also with a view to pass away the period of her curse.
During this time the king was fascinated
with the love of Urvas’î and became so very much attached to her, that he left
all his duties and dharma and remained long for many, many years in enjoying Urvas’î. The king's mind was so deeply absorbed in
her, that he could not remain alone without her, even for a moment.
Thus many years passed away, when, once on a
time, Indra, the lord of the Devas, not seeing Urvas'î, asked the Gandarbhas
and said :-- “O Gandarbhas. ! Better go and steal away the two young sheep
in a proper time from the palace of Pururavâ, and then bring Urvas'î here. My Nandana garden is now void of all beauty without Urvas’î; so bring the lady
here any how or other.”
Thus spoken by Indra, Vis'vâvasu and other Devas went
to Pururavâ's palace; and when it was dark in the night, and when Pururavâ was
holding sexual intercourse with Urvas’î, stole away the two young sheep. They, when being carried away in the sky,
cried out so piteously that Urvas’î came to hear that as if of her two sons,
and angrily spoke to the king :-- “O king.
! Now the contract that I made
with you is verily fulfilled. ! It is that I placed my implicit confidence on
you that this my misfortune has befallen on me; See. ! the
thieves are stealing away the two sheep, my sons as they were. ! How
then are you sleeping here like a woman? Alas.
! I am ruined in having an
impotent husband who vainly boasts of his prowess! Where are my two young sheep to-day that are
dearer to me than my life?”
Thus seeing Urvas’î wailing, the king
Pururavâ, the lord of the Universe, ran after the Gandharvas instantly without
any sense as it were, left in him, naked.
The Gandharvas, then, cast rays of lightning in that room, and Urvas’î,
willing to leave, saw the king naked when the Gandharvas left the two young
sheep there and went away. The tired
king brought the two sheep back to his house in that
naked state. Then Urvas’î, too, seeing
the husband naked, went away immediately to the Devî loka.
Seeing Urvas’î going away, the king wailed
very much with a very grievous heart. Then,
being very much bewildered by the bereavement of Urvas’î, with his senses
beyond control, and deluded by passion, wandered about in various countries,
crying and giving vent to sorrow.
Thus, wandering all over the globe, he
came once to Kuruksettra and saw Urvas’î; then with a gladdened face said :-- “O
beloved. ! Wait, wait for a moment; my mind is all absorbed
in you; it is quite innocent and submissive to you. So you ought not to forsake me in such a dire
difficult time. O Devî. ! For
the sake of you, I have travelled very far. O Beautiful one. ! The
body that you embraced before, will now, forsaken by you, fall here and will be
devoured by crows and wolves, and other carnivorous animals.”
Seeing the king, tired and passion
stricken, greatly distressed and with a very sorrowful heart and wailing, Urvas’î
spoke out :-- “O king. ! You are certainly a quite senseless man;
whither has gone your extraordinary knowledge now? O king. ! Do
you not know that the pure unalloyed love of women cannot take place with any
other as the love of a wolf cannot fall on any man.
Therefore the earthly men ought never to
trust a bit to women and thieves. So go back to your palace and enjoy the
pleasures of the kingdom; do not drown your mind further in sorrows.” The king
Pururavâ, though thus brought to senses by Urvas’î, was so much fascinated by
her love that his heart did not feel any consolation; rather he felt indescribable
pain, being held up in bondage by the love of Urvas’î. O Munis.
! Thus I have described to you
the character of Urvas’î; it is described, in detail, in the Vedas; I have
stated this in brief.
Thus ends the thirteenth chapter of the
1st Skandha of the characters Urvas’î and Pururavâ; in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad
Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source: Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
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