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The son of Budha and Ilā and founder of the lunar race of kings. [He saw the nymph Urvaśī, while descending upon earth owing to the curse of Mitra and Varuṇa, and fell in love with her. Urvaśī, too, was enamoured of the king who was as renowned for personal beauty as for truthfulness, devotion, and generosity, and became his wife. They lived happily together for many days, and after she had borne him a son, she returned to the heaven. The king heavily mourned her loss, and she was pleased to repeat her visits five successive times and bore him five sons. But the king, who wanted her life-long company, was not evidently satisfied with this; and he obtained his desired object after he had offered oblations as directed by the Gandharvas. The story told in Vikramorvaśīya differs in many respects; so does the account given in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, based on a passage in the Ṛigveda, where it is said that Urvaśī agreed to live with Purūravas on two conditions: namely that her two rams which she loved as children must be kept near her bed-side and never suffered to be carried away, and that he must take care never to be seen by her undressed. The Gandharvas, however, carried away the rams, and so Urvaśī disappeared.]

[purû-rávas] adjective crying much or loud; masculine noun of the lover of Urvasî; -vásu, adjective possessing many goods, abounding in wealth.