Nara-Nārāyaṇa and Urvaśī

Nara and Nārāyaṇa are twin avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu. They were born as the sons of Dharma and Mūrti. They did very hard tapas (austerity) on two peaks at Badarīkāśrama. Indra sent Manmatha and the apsarasas to disturb them, but they failed. Nārāyaṇa received them as guests and made Urvaśī from his own body. This is told in the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 7, and in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa.

The birth of Nara and Nārāyaṇa

Nara and Nārāyaṇa are the twin avatāras (descents) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. They were born as the sons of Dharma and Mūrti. Mūrti was one of the daughters of Daksha. Their birth was marked by great joy. Flowers rained from the sky, there was divine music, and all the devas sang stutis (praises).

Chapter 8 of the Skanda Purāṇa text names their birthplace as the Dharmakshetra of Badarīkāśrama. This is the holy field where dharma stands on all four legs. It lies south of the saṃgama of Mānasodhheda and the Gaṅgā. So their birthplace is part of the holy land of Badarī itself. (Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 8)

Tapas on two peaks

Dharma, their father, blessed them. Then the twin ṛshis Nara and Nārāyaṇa went to do tapas on two peaks of the Himālaya at Badarīkāśrama. Their tapas was of the hardest kind. They stood as still as a pillar fixed in the earth. Nothing could move them. Their minds were fixed wholly on the Paramātmā. (Chapter 7)

Indra sends Manmatha

Indra saw how strong the tapas of Nara and Nārāyaṇa was, and he became worried. He sent Manmatha, the deva of desire and love, with a band of apsarasas (divine dancers). They went to Gandhamādana, the mountain at Badarīkāśrama. Their aim was to disturb the tapas. (Chapter 7)

Manmatha fails

Manmatha and all the apsarasas were the most beautiful of divine beings. They had all the arrows of kāma (desire) and all the charms of divine beauty. They tried with all their strength to disturb the tapas of Nārāyaṇa. They failed completely. The power of the tapas of Nara and Nārāyaṇa was beyond the reach of kāma in every form. Manmatha and the apsarasas stood helpless, their power spent. (Chapter 7)

Nārāyaṇa’s hospitality and the making of Urvaśī

Nārāyaṇa was not disturbed. He did not drive the uninvited visitors away in anger. He received Manmatha and the apsarasas as atithis (guests). He spoke to them with perfect calm: “Why have you come here? Accept my atithya (hospitality).” He gave them forest fruits and roots, the hospitality of a forest-dwelling tapasī (one who does tapas).

Then, as the finest act of hospitality, Nārāyaṇa made Urvaśī, the greatest of the apsarasas, from his own body. He did this before all who were there to see. He gave her to the guests as they left. (Chapter 7)

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa (4th Skandha, Chapter 1) also tells this. Nārāyaṇa made Urvaśī from his thigh. She was more beautiful than the first Urvaśī. He gave her to the messengers of Indra.

Manmatha returns to Indra

Manmatha and the apsarasas went back to Indra and told him what had happened. The tapas of Nārāyaṇa could not be beaten. Instead of being disturbed, he had given them Urvaśī, an apsarā more beautiful than any they had brought. Indra was very pleased with the gift and with this proof of Nārāyaṇa’s power over kāma. (Chapter 7)

The Urvaśī Tīrtha

After this event, the place at Badarīkāśrama where Nārāyaṇa did tapas and made Urvaśī became known as the Urvaśī Tīrtha. Bhagavān Vishṇu lives there for ever as tapomūrti, the form of tapas itself. The phalaśruti (the fruit promised for hearing or visiting) of the Urvaśī Tīrtha is as follows.

  • The fragrance of the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu at this place destroys all the pāpa (sin) a person has gathered in the Kali Yuga, if it only touches him. It also ends the cycle of rebirth.
  • The wind that blows over the feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu at the Urvaśī Tīrtha carries this power to free. It makes pure all beings in that region.
  • Even one day’s stay at the Urvaśī Tīrtha leads to moksha (liberation).
  • Even an insect (kīṭaka) born in great pāpa is freed if it lives at this tīrtha, and it goes beyond even the devas.
  • To the south of the Urvaśī Tīrtha are the divine weapons (āyudhas) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. To see them (darśana) takes away all fear of weapons.

(Chapter 7)

The Urvaśī Saṃgama

Chapter 8 also names the Urvaśī Saṃgama. It is one of a group of tīrthas near the Daṇḍapushkariṇī and the Dharmakshetra. Bathing there destroys all pāpa at once. (Chapter 8)

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 7 (the tapas, Manmatha, Urvaśī and the Urvaśī Tīrtha)
  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 8 (the birthplace and the Urvaśī Saṃgama)
  • Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 4th Skandha, Chapter 1