In the Riga Veda Pururava is a weak character begging for favors from Urvashi, who spurns him. In the Satapatha Brahmana and Arthashastra he fares no better.
The earliest reference to Urvashi and Pururava is in Hymn XCV of Book 10 of the Riga Veda. It is in the form of a dialogue between Pururava and Urvashi.
Ever since Urvashi left him, Pururava has been desperately searching for her. He sees her bathing in a lake and that is when the dialogue in the Riga Veda takes place. Pururava beseeches Urvashi to return to him using a number of arguments. He reminds her of the good times they had. He points out her obligations as a wife, including bearing a son to continue his lineage. When all else fails he threatens to commit suicide by being eaten alive by raging wolves. Urvashi does not relent. She advises him not to waste his life away and also informs him that a woman’s heart is fickle and cannot be satisfied with one man for long. The Riga Veda does not indicate how Pururava and Urvashi got together and why she left him. It indicates a tragic end to the story with Pururava being separated from his love forever.
The entire story including the dialogue of the Riga Veda is given in the Satapatha Brahmana. Urvashi, the celestial maiden, agrees to live with Pururava, the king of the Lunar Dynasty, on one condition. He will never allow her to see him naked except when they were in bed. The Gandharvas want Urvashi back with them so they play a trick on Pururava. The Gandharvas are a race of divine singers and musicians, all males, who live with the apsaras. They steal Urvashi’s lambs and she exhorts the king to retrieve them. Undressed Pururava runs after the lambs. The Gandharvas then create a flash of lightning and Urvashi sees him naked and leaves. Pururava then moves from place to place, desperately searching for Urvashi. The dialogue in the Riga Veda occurs at this stage. Urvashi ultimately tells Pururava that she is carrying his child and she will deliver the child to him. Then she will spend one night with him for old time’s sake. After that the Gandharvas tell Pururava the secret of becoming one of their kind. Pururava performs this ritual and becomes a Gandharva.
Some other texts, like the Arthashastra, have a different ending to the story. Pururava becomes a dictatorial king, imposing heavy taxes and looting treasures. Once he is hunting in the forest of Naimisharanya, when he comes upon sages performing a sacrifice at a golden altar made by Viswakarma. He tries to take the altar by force. The sages then strike him with the sacrificial grass and kill him. In both these endings Pururava gives up his human body somehow connected with a sacrifice.
The story of Urvashi and Pururava is described in Canto 9 Chapter 14 of the Bhagavata Purana. It follows the narration of the Satapatha Brahmana. Certain details are added. The descent of Pururava from the sage Atri is described. The curse on Urvashi by Mitra and Varun is referred to by which she had to live among humans. She had heard about Pururava’s manliness, wealth and power from Narada so she decided to spend some of her time on earth with Pururava. Pururava is immediately enamored by Urvashi’s beauty and it is lust at first sight for both. According to the Bhagavata Purana the Gandharvas acted on instructions from Indra and not on their own accord. The ritual of turning into a Gandharva is described in some detail. There is one very interesting point raised in the Bhagavata Purana. The cycle of time between Creation and Destruction is divided into four eras. The first is Satya Yuga and the second Treta Yuga. Pururava conducted the sacrifice to become a Gandharva during the transition from Satya Yuga to Treta Yuga.
