Birth
There are many legends about the birth of Urvashi but the following one is most prevalent.
Once the revered sages Nara-narayana was meditating in the holy shrine of Badrinath situated in the Himalayas. Indra, the king of the Gods, did not want the sage to acquire divine powers through meditation and sent two apsaras to distract him. The sage struck his thigh and created a woman so beautiful that Indra’s apsaras were left matchless. This was Urvashi, named from ur, the Sanskrit word for thigh. After his meditation was complete the sage gifted Urvashi to Indra, and she occupied the pride of place in Indra’s court.
Ur also means heart and vash means to control, hence Urvashi is also the name of a woman who conquers the heart. According to the etymology of the poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', Urvashi also means a lady who invokes utter desire in men. According to legend, King pururavas and Urvashi fall in love.
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Famous quotes containing the word birth:
“The warped, distorted frame we have put around every Negro child from birth is around every white child also. Each is on a different side of the frame but each is pinioned there. And ... what cruelly shapes and cripples the personality of one is as cruelly shaping and crippling the personality of the other.”
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“Sin their conception, their birth weeping,
Their life a general mist of error,
Their death a hideous storm of terror.”
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