ORIENTAL SERIES.

248
PURU-RA VAS.
son of Budha by Ha, daughter of Mann, and grandson of the
moon." Through his mother he received the city of Pratish/hana.
(See Ha.) He is the hero of the story and of the drama of
Yikrama and Urvasi, or the " Hero and the Nymph." Puru-ravas
is the Yikrama or hero, and Urvasl is an Apsaras who came
down from Swarga through having incurred the imprecation of
Mitra and Varuwa. On earth Puru-ravas and she became ena-
moured of each other, and she
"
certain conditions. I have
agreed to live with him upon
two rams," said the nymph,
" which I love as children. They must be kept near my bed-
side, and never suffered to be carried away. You must also
take care never to be seen by me undressed ; and clarified butter
alone must be my food." The inhabitants of Swarga were
anxious for the return of Urvasi, and knowing the compact
and stole
made with Puru-ravas, the Gandharvas came by night
her rams. Puru-ravas was undressed, and so at first refrained
from pursuing the robbers, but the cries of Urvasi impelled him
to seize his sword and rush after them. The Gandharvas then
brought a vivid flash of lightning to the chamber which displayed
the person of Puru-ravas. So the charm was broken and
Urvasi disappeared Puru-ravas wandered about demented in
search of her, and at length found her at Kuru-kshetra bathing
with four other nymphs of heaven. She declared herself preg-
nant, and told him to come there again at the end of a year,
when she would deliver to him a son and remain with him for
one night. Puru-ravas, thus comforted, returned to his capital
At the end of the year he went to the trysting-place and received
from Urvasl his eldest son, Ayus. The annual interviews were
repeated until she had borne him five more sons. (Some autho-
rities increase the number to eight, and there is considerable
variety in their names.) She then told him that the Gandharvas
had determined to grant him any boon he might desire. His
desire was to pass his life with UrvasL The Gandharvas then
brought him a vessel with fire and said, " Take this fire, and,
according to the precepts of the Yedas, divide it into three fires ;
then, fixing your mind upon the idea of living with Urvasi, offer
oblations, and you shall assuredly obtain your wishes." He did
not immediately obey this command, but eventually he fulfilled
it in an emblematic way, and " obtained a seat in the sphere of
the Gandharvas, and was no more separated from his love." As