Vedic Mythology c5.s8.t2.8

c5.s8.t2.8

The love of the Apsarases, who are of the great beauty⁶ (cp. ŚB. 13, 4 3⁷. ⁸), is enjoyed not only by the Gandharvas, but occasionally even by men (cp. 10, 95⁹). A myth turning on such a union is related of at least one individual Apsaras in Vedic literature. The names only of several other Apsarases are there mentioned. The AV. refers to three, Ugrajit, Ugrampaśyā, and Rāṣṭrabhṛt (AV. 16, 118¹⁻²), while the VS., among several others, speaks of Urvaśī and Menakā (VS. 15, 15—19). The ŚB. (3, 4, 1²²) also specifies Śakuntalā, the ancestress of the royal family of the Bharatas⁷ (ŚB. 13, 5, 4¹³), as well as Urvaśī (ŚB. 11, 5, 1¹).