Apsars

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Apsars (Snscrito: , apsar) so os espritos femininos das nuvens e das guas na

mitologia Hindu e Budista.

No Rig-Veda h apenas uma Apsar, a esposa de Gandharva; em escrituras posteriores h

muitas Apsars, criadas por Brahma, que agem como criadagem de Indra ou como donzelas
celestiais da sua corte que danavam diante do seu trono.

Natya Shatra lista as seguintes apsars: Manjukesi, Sukesi, Misrakesi, Sulochana,

Saudamini, Devadatta, Devasena, Manorama, Sudati, Sundari, Vigagdha, Vividha, Budha,
Sumala, Santati, Sunanda, Sumukhi, Magadhi, Arjuni, Sarala, Kerala, Dhrti, Nanda,
Supuskala, Supuspamala e Kalabha.

Os Apsars so ninfas do paraso de Indra. O nome, significa 'movendo-se na gua,' tem

analogia com Afrodite. Elas no so provenientes dos Vedas, mas Urvasi e outras poucas
mencionadas. No Manu elas so chamadas as criaes dos sete Manus. Nos poemas picos
elas so proeminentes, e o Ramayana e os Puranas atribuem sua origem ao movimento dos
oceanos(Veja em Amrita). Elas so ditas sadas das guas, os deuses as tomaram por
esposas, assim elas tornar-se comuns a todos. Elas foram apelidadas de Suranganas,
'esposas dos deuses,' e Sumad atmajas, filhas do prazer.'

"Ento das profundezas agitadas surgiram s legies das Apsars, assim chamadas por
sarem do elemento gua que lhes era prprio. Destes seres. Mirades nasceram, e todas
trajadas com vestes celestiais, e jias celestes: Ainda mais divinos so os seus semblantes
celestiais, enriquecidos com todas as ddivas da graa, da juventude e da beleza. Um
squito numeroso a seguem ; Mesmo deste modo belas, Nem deuses nem demnios buscam
seu legtimo amor: De fato Raghava! Elas ainda mantm seu encanto. Os tesouros dos
cus"

Apsars dizem ser capazes de mudam suas formas de acordo com a sua vontade, e
especialmente governam a fortuna do jogo e da jogatina. Urvasi, Menaka, Rambha e
Tilottama so as mais famosas entre as Apsars que so bem versadas nas artes da msica e
da dana. O nmero total de Apsars na corte de Indra 26, cada uma representando um
distinto aspecto de uma das artes. Elas podem ser comparadas com as musas da Grcia
antiga ou ninfas, dradas, niades, etc.
Um dos seus deveres guiar ao paraso os guerreiros que caem em combate, se tornando
suas esposas. Elas so divididas em daivika ("divinas") ou laukika ("mundanas").

Nas Puranas vrios ganas ou classes delas so mencionadas com nomes distintos. O Vayu
Purana enumera quatorze, o Hari-vansa sete classes. Elas so novamente distinguidas como
seres daivika, 'divinos,' ou laukika, 'ordinrios.' A principio diz serem dez e mais tarde trinta
e quatro, e elas so as encantadoras (feiticeiras) celestes que fascinam os heris, como
Urvasi, e persuadem os austeros sbios em sua devoo e penitncias, como Menaka e
Rambha.

O Kasi-khanda menciona "H trinta e cinco milhes delas, mas somente umas mil e
sessenta so as principais." As Apsars, ento, so seres do mundo das fadas, lindas e
voluptuosas. Elas so as esposas ou as amantes amantes Gandharvas, e no prudente
dispensar seus favores. Seus namoros na Terra foram numerosos, e elas so as recompensas
do paraso de Indra para os heris que caram em batalha. Elas tem a fora de mudar as suas
formas; they are afeioadas aos jogos de dados, e do sorte aqueles que as favorecem. No
Atharva-veda elas no so to amaveis; que podem produzir a loucura, e por isso h
encantos e encantamentos para se usar contra elas. H um longo artigos sobre elas no
dicionrio de Goldstucker, do qual muito do que h acima foi adaptado.

observaes
"Originalmente estas divindades parecem ter sido personificaes de vapores que so
atrados pelo sol e formam a nvoa e neblina; estes personagens parecem ser vagamente
mencionados nos hinos do Rig-veda. Em um perodo subseqente ...(seus atributos foram
expandidos com a sua associao com os Gandharvas), elas tornaram-se divindades que
representam fenmenos ou objetos fsicos ou etricos associados com a vida" (a vida
elementar do cu).

As Apsars esto associadas aos ritos de fertilidade. No Hindusmo, as menores Apsars

(tambm Vrikshaka, fadas) so s vezes referidas como espritos da natureza, que enganam
os homens os levando at a morte.

Apsars so freqentemente citadas nas artes budistas do Camboja at China. Elas so

motivos de decoraes dos templos de Angkor.

Ver tambm
ninfa

Who is considered to be the most beautiful

woman in Hindu mythology?
5 Answers

Shripad Kulkarni, Indian by heart, mind, soul, Vande Mataram.

Written 27 May

As per available Mythology scripts, we can say that Mohini is the most beautiful woman,
Lord Shiva himself allowed her to seduce him.here are some more details.

MOHINI AVATAR OF LORD VISHNU

The first appearance of Mohini is during the great myth of the Churning of the Cosmic
Ocean. (For details see the Coorma Avatar article.) The demon horde got hold of the Nectar
of Immortality obtained in cooperative effort with the gods and they were refusing to share
it. A fight would have meant serious casualties and an explosive stalemate was broken only
by the appearance of this ravishing creature. She offered to arbitrate, and in the grand
tradition of all Tricksters proceeded to rob the trustful demons (trustful because
lustful) blind. She doled out the nectar to the gods first, making sure that not a drop was
left by the time she came to the demons. They were held in thrall by her personality as well
as the hope that if they behaved she would share her favors with one of them and the others
could go hang. Nothing is ever promised, but the appearance of Mohini always induces
such erroneous assumptions. The poor demons got massacred because they had abdicated
their reason.

Shiva, who is easily pleased, once granted a boon to the demon Bhasmasura, bestowing on
him the power to reduce to ashes anyone whom he touched on the head. The evil demon
decided to test the effect of the boon on Shiva himself. Shiva panicked and turned to Lord
Vishnu for help and protection. After chastising Shiva for
being overly generous with his boons, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of the beautiful and
bewitching Mohini. The demon was totally captivated by Mohini's sexuality and forgot
about Shiva. He desired nothing but marrying Mohini. Mohini agreed on condition that
Bhasmasura copy her dance steps. In the ensuing competition between the two, Mohini
placed her hands on her head. The demon did likewise, thus reducing himself to ash.

Lord Shiva was totally enamoured of Mohini and allowed her to seduce him. As a result of
their union Mohini (LORD VISHNU) gave birth to a child, known as Swami Ayyappa (or
Hariharaputra, a name derived from other names of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara)). Shiva
and Vishnu left the baby in a forest and return to their heavenly abode. The childless King
of Pandalam, who was out hunting, spotted the baby lying helpless without a guardian. He
accepted the baby as a gift from the Heavens.
Source : GOD IS GREAT

A great tragdy love story Pururava and

Urvashi
Some have a story where they leave the world for somebody and then that somebody
leaves them.
When you go back in time, you see the same happening in Mahabharata too and the victims
such tragedies are mostly the kings. Would you really be that interested if it were to happen
to a commoner anyway?!

Pururava was a young and handsome king. When I say young and handsome, it means
that practicing warrior-skills, hunting and partying were his major hobbies. Administration
of kingdom, for such kings, was usually the second priority. There are a very few examples
of kings who were young and handsome and capable at the same time. Unfortunately,
Pururava was not. And before he could make his transition from young and handsome to
capable, something happened!

Once when he was out hunting in a forest, he came across the apsara (river-nymph)
Urvashi. The sight of the scantily dressed apsara, who was a favourite even among the
Devas, was definitely the most enthralling sight of Pururavas youth.

With the confidence characteristic of kings and attitude characteristic of self-proclaimed

handsome men, Pururava went to Urvashi and asked her out.

Pururava: The Almighty must have exhausted all his creativity in carving a beauty like you.
What would it take of me to make you mine? I want you to marry me and be my queen.

Urvashi: No ordinary man can ask me out in this fashion. Your confidence and your flashy
attire indicate that you are from the royal bloodline. But are you worthy enough for the
beautiful creation of the Almighty like you just said?
Pururava: There is no feat in this world impossible for me to perform as long as I possess
my bow and arrows. You can be sure about me.

Urvashi: I would rather marry a lover than a warrior. I dont seek the power of your
weapons, I only seek the power of your words. You will have to promise me that you will
take care of my pet goats. They are very dear to me. Also, promise me that except for me
you will never appear naked in front of anybody. If you are willing to make these two
promises, I will marry you.

Pururava: I am a Kshatriya, to protect the helpless is my Dharma. Will I not protect your
goats? I promise I will. And I will protect your second promise too. My Kshatriya instincts
are not limited to people alone!

These promises were perhaps Urvashis ways of ensuring that her husband remains loyal
to her concerns and never brings in a second wife that decreases her importance.
Pururava didnt think much before making the promises either. The Kshatriya factor often
deluded the decision making powers of the kings. Anyway, they both got married and lived
happily for some time, increasing the prospective candidates for the royal inheritance and
inspiring stories that would be carved out later in Indian temples meant for selective
visitors.
Indra, the original boss of apsaras, could not bear this long separation from the apple of
his eye, Urvashi. He wanted her back at any cost, so he ordered the gandharvas to bring
Urvashi back. The gandharvas stole the pet goats of Urvashi one day when Pururava was
busy making love to her. Urvashi, on realizing that her goats had been stolen, requested
Pururava to rescue them. He hurried out without bothering to cover himself keen to keep
the first promise he made to his wife while forgetting the second one. At that moment,
Indra launched a thunder in the sky causing a public display of the kings private
properties.

In spite of his best efforts, Pururava could not keep both his promises. Urvashi decided to
leave Pururava the way he was, not continuing her stay with the husband king since the
promises that were the basis of their marriage were broken.

Pururava and Urvashi

The separation left Pururava devastated and he lost all sense. He isolated himself from his
kingdom and became mad, not being able to rule the kingdom anymore. Had India had
access to Italian Marble in those days, a Taj Mahal would have come into existence much
before in Indian History than when it actually did. Pururava was replaced by one of his
more capable sons.