Who is apsara

The origin of Apsaras can be found in the Vedas as mentioned above. Initially, they were mostly associated with water, but in the Puranas, they are mentioned as mainly celestial nymphs. It could be because Urvashi left Pururava and ascended to heaven. There are different stories in the different Puranas about their births.

Most of the Puranas indicate that they were born during the Samudra Manthan the churning of the sea. They selected Gandharvas as their consorts. The sages Nara and Narayana created Apsara Urvashi from their thighs when Indra tried to break their penance.

The Vayu Purana also credits Lord Brahma for their creation. The ones born from yajna are called Subha. The ones born from water and nectar are known as Amrita. Those born from the wind are called Suddha, the lightning-born Richa, and the death-born Bhairava — VP There are hundreds of stories about them, but it is not possible to cover all of them in an article.

So I am mentioning only important stories here. Pururava was a very noble and brave king. He possessed all the qualities that an ideal king would have. His extraordinary beauty and qualities, liberality, good nature, his unbounded wealth, and prowess made the Apsara Urvashi think of him often, and she wanted him to satisfy her.

After some time, when Urvashi had to descend on the Earth due to a curse of a Brahmin, she chose him as her husband. Mesmerized by her beauty, Pururava accepted all her conditions. Soon he fell deeply in love with her and forgot all his duties and remained long for many, many years in enjoying her. After many years, Indra started missing Urvashi. So he asked Gandharvas to steal her two sheep when she and her husband were intimate with each other. When Urvashi heard the cries of her beloved sheep, she reminded Pururava of his promise.

In a hurry, Pururava started running after the Gandharvas. At the same time, the Gandharvas produced lightning so that Urvashi could see him naked. Seeing him naked, Urvashi ascended to heaven.

Once Sage Vishwamitra agreed to perform the rituals to ascend Trishanku to heaven with his physical body, but no human beings are allowed to enter heaven in their physical bodies. Hence, Indra sent him back. The upset Vishwamitra started severe penance to create parallel heaven.

Therefore, to break his penance, Indra sent Menaka to lure him. After tedious efforts, Menaka successfully lured the sage. They then married and had a baby girl named Shakuntala, who was the mother of King Bharat. After a few years, Menaka returned to heaven leaving Vishwamitra heartbroken. These were two Asura brothers who undertook severe penance. Gods tried to distract them but failed.

Then Lord Brahma gave them a boon of immortality except that they can be killed by each other. Sunda and Upasunda then conquered the Earth and heaven and drove out gods. Then, Lord Brahma created a very beautiful Apsara named Tilottama. She went where the brothers were enjoying themselves. They both were intoxicated, and each sought her for himself. They soon broke out into a fight and killed each other. Once gods Mitra and Varuna were doing a yajna where Apsara Urvashi appeared.

Seeing her celestial beauty, they both ejaculated. Their combined semen fell in a jar that fell from heaven. From the jar, two infants named Agastya and Vashishtha were born. Once she went to Kailasha to see her husband. When Ravana saw her, he was captivated by her beauty, and he dragged her into bushes and raped her.

Later, when her husband came to know about this incident, he cursed Ravana that if he would ever attempt to force a woman into a physical relationship, his head would explode into seven pieces.

Other versions of the story say that Rambha cursed Ravana. Because of this curse, Ravana could not do anything wrong with Goddess Sita when he abducted her. Punjikasthala was a very beautiful Apsara in the court of Indra. She was very proud of her beauty. Once when Sage Durvasa came to visit Indra, she laughed at him because he was not good-looking. The infuriated sage cursed her to be born as a monkey on the Earth. Khmer Apsara dancers. Apsaras represent an important motif in the stone bas-reliefs of the Angkorian temples in Cambodia 8th—13th century AD , however all female images are not considered to be apsaras.

In harmony with the Indian association of dance with apsaras, Khmer female figures that are dancing or are poised to dance are considered apsaras ; female figures, depicted individually or in groups, who are standing still and facing forward in the manner of temple guardians or custodians are called devatas. Angkor Wat , the largest Angkorian temple built — AD , features both apsaras and devata , however the devata type are the most numerous with more than 1, in the present research inventory.

They incorporated larger devata images all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95— cm more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In , Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

Some devata appear with arms around each other and seem to be greeting the viewer. Khmer classical dance , the indigenous ballet-like performance art of Cambodia, is frequently called " Apsara Dance ". Apsaras were also an important motif in the art of Champa , medieval Angkor 's neighbor to the east along the coast of what is now central Vietnam. Especially noteworthy are the depictions of apsaras in the Tra Kieu Style of Cham art, a style which flourished in the 10th and 11th centuries A.

Apsaras are often depicted as flying figures in the mural paintings and sculptures of Buddhist cave sites in China such as in the Mogao Caves , Yulin Caves , and the Yungang and Longmen Grottoes.

They may also be depicted as dancers or musicians. They may be referred to as feitian in Chinese. Religion Wiki Explore. Religion portals. Sunni Islam Shia Islam. Contributing Getting Started Advanced. Register Don't have an account? View source. History Talk 0. Apsaras dance taken from the 12th century Bayon temple at Angkor in Cambodia.

Apsaras are depicted on the base of the Tra Kieu Pedestal, a work of 10th c. Cham art. Apsara from Yulin Caves near Dunhuang, China. Apsara Surasundari in Borobudur.

Hindu deities and texts. Fan Feed 1 Prophets and messengers in Islam 2 Saturn mythology. Universal Conquest Wiki. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Apsara. They are said to have emerged after the appearance of the Kalpavriksha. These Apsaras were gorgeous women , draped in attractive robes and bejewelled with golden ornaments.

These celestial nymphs were engaged in alluring by their intoxicating movements and amorous glances. Manu Sastra asserts that Apsaras were created with the seven Manus to serve as wives of the Gods and daughters of pleasure.

In companionship with his thirteen wives he fathered the Devas, Asuras, Nagas, Gandgarvas, Apsaras , flora, fauna and all of humanity. The Apsaras are said to be the daughters of Rishi Kashyapa and his wife Muni. In the beginning of the Treta Yuga , Brahma went to deep rumination; he recalled the four Vedas, picked up suitable parts from them and created a new Veda. He picked up hymns from the Rigveda , melody and music from the Samveda , gesticulation and emotion from Yajuveda and aesthetics of the rasas from the Atharveda.

He further amalgamated all these selected essentials from all the four Vedas and called it Natyaveda- The scripture of Arts. Brahma passed the Natyaveda to Indra and prescribed that the Devatas should practice the Natyaveda. But the Devatas were not dedicated enough to learn and perform the new scripture on performing art. Brahma then decided to train his hundred children in Natyaveda. Brahma delegated the task to Bharat Muni and assigned him with the duty to be the Natya Guru of his hundred children.

Brahma then created the Apsaras. He endowed these celestial beauties with the skill of dance, music and enact. Thereafter Brahma passed these Apsaras to Bharat Muni as female companions to accompany, polish and train his hundred children. The Vayu Purana refers to the origin of Apsaras from various sources. It describes Apsaras as Manasa Kanya- mental creation of Brahma gifted them with beauty, energy and force of nature. It presents them as dazzling maidens, similar to the stretched rays of the sun and also bearing the soft illumination from moon and benevolence.