Shloka 44
The Rise of Soma-vaṁśa: Budha’s Birth and Purūravā–Urvaśī; The Origin of Karma-kāṇḍa in Tretā-yuga
स्थालीस्थानं गतोऽश्वत्थं शमीगर्भं विलक्ष्य स: । तेन द्वे अरणी कृत्वा उर्वशीलोककाम्यया ॥ ४४ ॥ उर्वशीं मन्त्रतो ध्यायन्नधरारणिमुत्तराम् । आत्मानमुभयोर्मध्ये यत् तत् प्रजननं प्रभु: ॥ ४५ ॥
sthālī-sthānaṁ gato ’śvatthaṁ śamī-garbhaṁ vilakṣya saḥ tena dve araṇī kṛtvā urvaśī-loka-kāmyayā
When the rite of fruitive yajña awakened within his heart, King Purūravā went to the very place where he had left Agnisthālī. There he saw an aśvattha tree grown from within a śamī tree. Longing to reach the realm where Urvaśī dwelt, he took that wood and fashioned two araṇis. Chanting mantras, he meditated on the lower araṇi as Urvaśī, the upper as himself, and the piece between them as his son, and thus kindled the sacred fire.
The Vedic fire for performing yajña was not ignited with ordinary matches or similar devices. Rather, the Vedic sacrificial fire was ignited by the araṇis, or two sacred pieces of wood, which produced fire by friction with a third. Such a fire is necessary for the performance of yajña. If successful, a yajña will fulfill the desire of its performer. Thus Purūravā took advantage of the process of yajña to fulfill his lusty desires. He thought of the lower araṇi as Urvaśī, the upper one as himself, and the middle one as his son. A relevant Vedic mantra quoted herein by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is śamī-garbhād agniṁ mantha. A similar mantra is urvaśyām urasi purūravāḥ. Purūravā wanted to have children continuously by the womb of Urvaśī. His only ambition was to have sex life with Urvaśī and thereby get a son. In other words, he had so much lust in his heart that even while performing yajña he thought of Urvaśī, instead of thinking of the master of yajña, Yajñeśvara, Lord Viṣṇu.
FAQs
This verse shows Purūravas, driven by longing for Urvaśī, preparing ritual means (making araṇīs) with the hope of attaining her realm—highlighting desire as a motivating force in karmic pursuits.
He noticed the unusual aśvattha arising within a śamī tree and used that wood to fashion araṇīs, intending to kindle sacred fire as part of a ritual effort to attain Urvaśī’s world.
Unchecked attachment can push one into elaborate efforts to reclaim what is lost; the Bhagavatam invites the reader to recognize desire’s pull and redirect longing toward lasting spiritual goals.