Mudgalapurana 3.29: purūravasaścaritakathanaṃ nāmaikonatriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Salutation to the glorious Gaṇeśa.

Mudgala said: / That Purūravas ruled over the earth; / endowed with dharma, he protected those human beings with good governance.

Afflicted by a sage's curse, Urvaśī came to the king; / as she was roaming in Kurukṣetra, that lord of the earth desired her.

She said: "Protect my two rams, which are like sons to me, O lord; / do not show me your naked body except during lovemaking.

Then I shall dwell in your house, O king, eating only clarified butter." / Saying "So be it," the king took her and went to his house.

And by her were born six sons equal in brilliance to Indra: / Āyu, Māyu, Amāyu, and Viśvāyu as well, O lord.

Śatāyu and Sthāyu: these are known by their names. / All of them were founders of the lunar dynasty and endowed with victory.

Then Indra sent the Gandharvas led by Viśvāvasu / to the king’s palace to bring Urvaśī.

Using illusion, they carried away her two rams there in the night, / and with loud bleating those two cried out intensely.

Hearing their crying, Urvaśī furiously said to the king: / “I did not know you were a king lacking in virility!

By what thief have my two sons been taken? Why do you just watch?” / Hearing her words, he became the very embodiment of anger.

Naked, bearing a sword, he immediately went forth due to the weight of destiny; / and then a flash of lightning was produced there by the gods.

By the brilliance of the lightning, the king appeared naked there in the house; / and seeing him thus, Urvaśī vanished.

Taking the two rams, the Gandharvas went to heaven through the sky; / accompanied by Urvaśī, filled with joy, they bowed before Indra.

The king did not see the renowned woman within his home; / then, crying “Alas, alas!”, he fell to the ground and fainted.

In such a state the great king Purūravas lamented; / eager for a sight of Urvaśī, he wandered over the entire earth.

Then, after much time had passed, after just a year, he saw her again / full of compassion at Kurukṣetra, and was overjoyed.

“Leaving me, devoted to you, where have you gone, my beloved? / Accept me now, and do not abandon me, O best of Apsarases!”

Then, joined with him, she dwelt [there] for one night; / and she spoke beneficial words to that sorrowful king:

“I am a charming divine Apsaras, subject to the Gandharvas; / therefore, worship them constantly with devotion by means of a sacrifice to the ancestors.

Then your dwelling will be in heaven, O wise one; / (

Section 3, Chapter 29, Page 62) I shall constantly be subject to you, O king, there is no doubt.”

Then the king, overcome with sorrow, wept exceedingly bitterly; / seeing him so distraught, the celestial woman said to him:

“Year after year, O king, I will dwell for one night / with you, O fortunate one.” Then she disappeared.

The king too constantly performed such [rites] there, O lord of creatures; / satisfied thereby, the company of ancestors gave a supreme boon to the king:

“That Urvaśī will be subject to you, O wise one; / and in our śrāddha, may the gods be marked with your name.

Your Pitṛloka will be imperishable, of this there is no doubt.” / Having spoken thus, the ancestors, affectionate to their devotees, vanished.

Then, after a short time, the king met his death; / by the power of his merit alone, that Purūravas went to heaven.

Joined with Urvaśī there, fond of sensory pleasures, / having attained her, Purūravas constantly enjoyed the pleasures born of heaven.

Then, after much time had passed, the ruler of the earth was awakened out of compassion / by Nārada, who had gone to the realm of the ancestors, O creator:

Nārada said: / “Why, O king, O fortunate one, are you especially attached / to sensory objects? Look at your self; you will fall, of this there is no doubt.

This body is a prison; there you are bound / by iron chains. Therefore, through yoga, become free from bondage, O lord!

Must such pleasures be enjoyed by you again and again? / People possessed of ignorance never attain satisfaction.

Drink the nectar of Brahman, which constantly bestows the bliss of one's own self; / abandoning that, attached to minor pleasure, you will surely fall down again.

A person wanders among eighty-four hundred thousand wombs; / there he obtains wives, children, and so forth, of this there is no doubt.

Attaining a human womb, a person achieves all aims; / knowledge specifically arises there, of this there is no doubt.

This human body is fit for action; if yoga is not accomplished in it, / he will fall again into various wombs, O giver of honor.

He finds suffering consisting of dualities wherever he turns; / when does a person enjoy the eternal nature that is Brahman?

Though endowed with knowledge yourself, what are you doing, O wise one? / Deliver your self through yoga, O best of men!”

Hearing Nārada’s words, the ruler of men said to him: / “You have spoken the truth, O yogin, and I have comprehended it.

I am exceedingly afflicted by the fault of sensory objects, O lord; / my mind has attained detachment. Explain knowledge [to me], O great sage!”

Nārada said: / “Worship Gaṇeśa with feeling, and welfare will ensue, / by means of the single-syllable rite, [him who is] higher than the highest of all,

the giver of intellect in the heart, the supreme giver of perfection externally, / whose form is yoga, who abides everywhere, the lord of Brahman.

Relinquishing the mind, O great king, become yourself the wishing-jewel.” / Having spoken thus, he gave him the single-syllable mantra.

Then, taking leave of him, Nārada departed; / he too, abandoning that Urvaśī, became absorbed in meditation.

In time, with humble devotion, he became a devotee of Gaṇeśa; / then, intensely sorrowful, he censured himself:

Section 3, Chapter 30, Page 63) “Alas, by me, a supreme fool, deluded by desire for women, / action yielding [transient] enjoyment was especially performed, of this there is no doubt.

The body consists of bones and flesh, filled with foul stench, / an opening, a vile vessel of urine; to that I became attached!

Having obtained a body that gives all aims to human beings, / I continually performed action that leads to hell, of this there is no doubt.

Having attained a human body, who but me could be such a rascal / as a man who is exceedingly attached to women, abandoning Gaṇapati?

Thus filled with remorse, the best of kings / worshipped that Gaṇeśa who grants all perfections according to his true nature.

In the end, through yoga, that Purūravas attained Gaṇeśa; / thus his greatness, which destroys sins, has been narrated.

The best of men who listens to this narrative of Purūravas / finds it to be the destroyer of sin, O lord of creatures.

Oṃ tat sat. Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter, entitled “The Narration of the Story of Purūravas,” in the story of Mahodara, in the third section of the glorious and final Purāṇa-Upaniṣad, the venerable Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa.