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What do apsaras do in heaven?
Traditionally apsaras are described as celestial maidens living in Indra’s heaven (Kaéndran). They are well known for their special task: being sent to earth by Indra to seduce ascetics who by their severe practices may become more powerful than the gods.
What did apsaras do?
apsara, in Indian religion and mythology, one of the celestial singers and dancers who, together with the gandharvas, or celestial musicians, inhabit the heaven of the god Indra, the lord of the heavens. Originally water nymphs, the apsaras provide sensual pleasure for both gods and men.
Who is most beautiful apsara?
Urvashi
Urvashi (Sanskrit: उर्वशी, romanized: Urvaśī) is an apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology. She is considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras and an expert dancer. Urvashi is mentioned in many Vedic and Puranic scriptures of Hinduism.
How are apsaras born?
Due to their frivolous nature as performing artists, apsaras & gandharvas are often cursed by sages to be born on earth as trees, animals, or deformed beings. In the epics and the Puranas, the apsaras and gandharvas are artists who perform at the court of Indra and other gods.
Are Apsaras virgin?
In Hindu myth, the apsaras are beautiful heavenly nymphs, superb dancers who adorn the court of Indra, king of the celestials. But this is not a marriage tie, nor is an apsara ever ‘defiled’ by men, since she is an ‘eternal virgin’.
What do apsara dancers Symbolise?
Any visitor to Cambodia will notice the thousands of Apsara dancers adorning the stone walls of Angkorian temples. These Hindu spirits of cloud and water traditionally represented the paragon of feminine beauty, elegance and refinement.
Is gandharvas a God?
In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, Gandharva is a class of celestial beings whose males are divine singers and females are divine dancers from Gandhara region. It is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.
Who was apsara Menaka?
In Hindu mythology, Menaka (Sanskrit: मेनका) is considered one of the most beautiful of the heavenly Apsaras….
Menaka | |
---|---|
Affiliation | Apsara |
Abode | Swarga |
Personal information | |
Spouse | Vishwamitra Vishvavasu |
What is the meaning of Apsara?
Apsara, in Indian religion and mythology, one of the celestial singers and dancers who, together with the gandharvas, or celestial musicians, inhabit the heaven of the god Indra, the lord of the heavens.
What are the four apsaras of Hinduism?
Four apsaras, Urvashi, Menaka, Rambha, and Tilottama were the most prominent. In the Hindu texts, the “Rig Veda” and “ Mahabharata ”, the stories of these four apsaras were told.
Was satyvati’s mother a cursed apsara?
Adrika – Satyvati’s mother was a cursed apsara! Adrika a beautiful apsara, she was once cavorting around a Gandharva in river Yamuna. A sage came to the river Yamuna for evening prayers. Adrika decides to play a prank on sage, by pulling his leg under the water. Sage’s prayers are distribued.
What is the story of Apsara in Rig Veda?
The Rig Veda mentions apsara by name; she is Urvasi, wife to Pururava, who is an ancestor of the Kauravas and Pandavas. The story is that Urvasi lived with Pururava, a human king, for a while and then left him to return to her apsara and gandharva companions.