Ālambushā

Ālambushā is a well-known apsarā (a heavenly dancer) in the Mahābhārata. In the Śalya Parva, Chapter 51, Indra sends her to disturb the tapas (austerity) of the ṛshi Dadhīca.

Sent by Indra to Dadhīca

Indra sent Ālambushā to the ṛshi Dadhīca, who was doing severe tapas on the bank of the Sarasvatī. She was sent to distract him.

When Dadhīca saw the divine beauty of Ālambushā coming near, his seed was released without his will. The ṛshi caught it and kept it in a leaf-cup. The river Sarasvatī, out of devotion to Dadhīca, took this seed and carried the child Sārasvata in her womb. So Ālambushā’s visit, though meant to disturb, became the cause of the birth of Sārasvata Ṛshi. Later Sārasvata would keep the Vedic tradition alive during a twelve-year drought.

Not the same as the rākshasa Ālambusha

The name also appears in the Droṇa Parva, in a scene of war with the rākshasas. That is a different being, a rākshasa named Ālambusha, and not the apsarā.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapter 51
• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva (for the rākshasa Ālambusha; the chapter is not given)