Image Information: Urvashi and
Pururavas. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma. Wikipedia.
"Although the life of a goddess may
be lonely," Ishtar started, "you
all must realize that we are still goddesses. We have to live the life
of a goddess, even though that life may be led with few true friends.
We have what any mortal considers an ideal life, so we must portray
ourselves as
if our lives are as glorious as they seem."
Freyja then spoke in agreement with
Aphrodite. "Yes, you are right,
Aphrodite. I just wish the mortals could see how great their lives
actually are. They do not have to deal with all of this godly drama.
The drama of ordinary people seems so insignificant compared to what we
deal with every day."
Aphrodite then joined the
conversation. "Well, of course gods and
goddesses have more drama than everyday people. You are both speaking
nonsense. I love living the life of a goddess, and I actually do find
it quite glorious. I could not imagine living a mortal life after
having been an exquisite goddess of love."
"I have a story that might change
your mind, Aphrodite," said Urvashi.
"Living a beautiful life among the gods is not so fantastic. I have
taken a turn living both the life of a goddess and that of a normal
woman, and I find the latter more appealing." Now, it was Urvashi's
time
to shine. She shifted in her cloud in order to be directly in the
light. All the other goddesses looked in awe at the stunning beauty of
Urvashi. Her smooth skin looked radiant against her long, shimmering
black hair.
"Being an aspara is supposed to be
a most extravagant and romantic
life. Asparas live in the heavens and charm others with their undying
beauty. We use our ethereal dancing ability to seduce others.
Everything is supposed to be perfect, which is why it all
seemed so stifling to me. It was too beautiful, too perfect. I hated
the constant exhilaration in every aspect of life. Everything was so
clean
and fake. I began to loathe beauty because it was so boring. I began to
dread having to use love to charm others and lure them into my power.
It all seemed so...trifling and petty.
Around the time I started having
these feelings, I met Pururavas, a
noble mortal who frequented the courts of the gods. I had started
sneaking away from the heavens at night so that I could venture to the
mortal Earth. I loved the feel of the wet dew against my skin and the
smell of grass and dirt alongside the fragrant flowers. When I was
sneaking back to the heavens one night, a demon kidnapped me. I was all
by myself and terrified. Luckily, Pururavas saw what happened, chased
after the demon, and freed me. Once I had composed myself again, I
looked at Pururavas and knew I was in love. I felt a strong sense of
longing for this mortal man who had risked his life to fight a demon
for me. Unfortunately, we barely had any time to speak before I had to
leave him and return to the heavens.
I waited for days for Pururavas to
somehow show that he felt as I did.
I knew that I, being a goddess of love, could easily seek him, but I
wanted him to come to me. I wanted him to return my feelings for him. I
had never fallen for an ordinary man before, so I was tormented when I
could not use my usual means of gossip and trickery to get my way. Gods
are easy to antagonize for love, but I felt horrible using the ways of
a
goddess on such a pure man.
Eventually my secret came out.
While I was dancing for the god Vishnu one
night, I accidentally yelled out "Pururavas" instead of "Vishnu." I was
cursed and told that although I might seek out my love for Pururavas, I
would one day have to leave him. I could love him, but if I ever bore
him any sons, they would not be allowed to see him. If son and father
did
meet, then I would have to be sent back to the heavens.
Well, I was ecstatic. Not only
would
I get to love Pururavas freely, but
I could leave the heavens and live a mortal life. I was not concerned
about the curse because I had no desire for children--I just wanted
Pururavas.
We lived a normal life, and it was
fabulous. We were messy and dirty at
times, and we even had the daily dilemmas of common people. We loved,
and we fought. Our love for each other was so strong that nothing else
seemed to matter. I found beauty in small things and appreciated the
way vulgarity made beauty all the more glorious. However, one day I did
become pregnant. I secretly gave birth to a son and sent him to live
elsewhere. Unfortunately, twelve years later Pururavas met his son
while hunting. I was immediately sent back to the heavens. I was
furious and refused to play along with the gods in their heavenly world
again. I made such a scene that the other gods finally let me go back
to the mortal world with Pururavas. And it is there, in the mortal
world, that I have spent many happy years with Pururavas. It is amazing
how the glamorous life of a goddess does not even compare to simple,
ordinary life of a mortal. Living as a normal person is exhilarating,
and I have never once missed the extravagant courts in the heavens."
Urvashi's happy ending uplifted the spirits of all the goddesses. They
talked and drank all throughout the night as they laughed about the
crazy things love can do.
Author's note: In Hindu mythology,
asparas were not exactly goddesses,
but they were instead considered celestial maidens. The asparas would
dance, using their infinite charm and beauty, for the gods in the
courts of heaven. Urvashi was considered the most beautiful of all the
asparas, but she was also the most unhappy. She despised the life of
the asparas and wanted nothing more than to live in the mortal world. I changed only a few details from
the original story of Urvashi and
Pururavas. I mainly tried to exclude some details to make the story
shorter. In the original story, it is explained that Pururavas strongly
admires the gods. He longs to live in the heavens, while Urvashi longs
to live a mortal life. In the end, their love for each other prevails,
and they are both happy just to be with each other. I also omitted the details of how
Pururavas met his son. A raven steals
a favorite gem of Urvashi's, so Pururavas attempts to strike down the
raven with an arrow. However, the raven is shot by another arrow before
Pururavas can shoot his. The arrow ends up belonging to Ayu, who is the
son of Urvashi and Pururavas. The son and father meet, and Urvashi is
ordered back to the heavens. Once there, Urvashi is clearly unhappy and
refuses to live the life of a kindly aspara. She is sent back to live
with Pururavas, where they live happily for many years.
