Shloka 45
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
Apabila tata cara yajña berbuah tersingkap, Raja Purūravā pergi ke tempat baginda meninggalkan Agnisthālī dan melihat aśvattha tumbuh dari rahim śamī. Dengan hasrat menuju alam Urvaśī, baginda membuat dua araṇi daripada kayu itu; sambil melafazkan mantra, baginda merenungkan araṇi bawah sebagai Urvaśī, araṇi atas sebagai dirinya, dan kayu di tengah sebagai puteranya, lalu menyalakan api suci.
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 Purūravā acting under intense longing—using ritual means (making araṇīs) with the aim of reaching Urvaśī’s realm, illustrating how desire can drive one toward karma-based pursuits.
He noticed aśvattha within a śamī tree and used it to create araṇīs, intending to generate sacred fire for ritual action, motivated by the wish to attain Urvaśī’s world.
It highlights how longing can make us seek external methods for fulfillment; Bhagavatam readers can reflect on redirecting desire toward devotion rather than chasing outcomes through mere technique.