The Curse of Urvasi

The Curse of Urvasi
(A Play in One Act)

BY G. DHARMA RAO, M.A.

 

Characters:

 

Arjuna

Chitrasena

Urvasi

Indra

Haha

Varudhini

Scene I

(A bower in Nandana, the Garden of Swarga. A strange light pervades all–a light like that of Virtue. The trees in the garden glisten in a soft mellow light of their own. Round the bower are spread artfully laid out plants bearing flowers of every season, and a mild breeze flutters through the leaves wafting around their honeyed fragrance. At a distance stands the majestic Kalpaka Tree like the Queen of the Nandana, with its luscious fruit-laden branches waving in the breeze and throwing chequered patterns of light and shade on the emerald grass. The deep murmur of the Ganges is heard from near-by.

Seated on a shady couch in the bower, Chitrasena, King of the Gandharvas–and master of the arts of music and dance–is conversing with Haha, another Gandharva.)

Chitrasena: I don’t think so. It is true the son of Pandu looked with a steadfast gaze at Urvasi when she danced with the other Apsarasas at Indra’s Court, but not with eyes of lust.

Haha: You have been his friend, O Gandharva King, for some years, but I wonder whether you have understood him well. After all, he is a man, and, as you know, men are intensely prone to passion.

C: Yes, he is a man; but a man among men. I have known him intimately for some years as my pupil. He has seen many Apsarasas dance, but not once did he show any carnal desire, nay, not even a desire make their acquaintance!

H: Do you mean he has conquered sex?

C: Yes; in a way some gods have not. Do you know,–he told lndra when he met him in Indraloka: “I desire not regions of bliss, nor objects of enjoyment, nor the state of celestials. I desire to learn from thee the use of all the military weapons with which I may take vengeance on the foe.” That is Arjuna!

H: May be true. For aught know, he may take with him to his own world all the weapons granted by Indra, Yama, Varuna and Kubera, and also a beautiful Apsarasa into the bargain.

C: You don’t know what mighty purifications he has gone through to reach this world. He has combined the courage of a Kshatriya with the stainless purity of a Brahmana. When Shiva touched him, all the evil in him was dispelled. Can you show me a human being who could look at the three-eyed God and get from him the invincible Pashupata? The blessings of the immortals attend on Arjuna wherever he goes and endow him with immeasurable strength.

H: Why? Because he is Indra’s son! But tell me, is he superior to Viswamitra? Viswamitra who, in spite of his penances, fell a prey to the wiles of Menaka?

C: Surely, have you not seen how his matted locks shine like lightning? An unusual radiance surrounds his face. This is not common to men who become slaves to their lust.

H: I don’t understand you. Is it possible for one who has married many wives–Draupadi, Subhadra, Ulupi, and Chitra, can such a one conquer his weakness for woman?

C: For that very reason, just because he has had the companionship of such noble women, he has known what love is! By his subsequent penance, he has controlled it by the power of his will. To my mind, he is more perfect than Viswamitra, for he has harmonised the discords of sex by subordinating them to his will–the one will of his days–the will to conquer the Kauravas.

H: Yes, my king–for he rarely mixes with the Apsarasas though he watches them dance and sing. By the bye, if you would pardon me for my curiosity, how does he fare as your pupil in the Gandharva arts?

C: Splendidly. He seems to care more for instrumental than vocal music, for the instruments we have here exist not in the world of men. He was greatly interested in the dance of Tumburu’s band of Apsarasas at Indra’s court held in honour of his arrival at Amaravati, and since then, at the suggestion of his father, he has been taking lessons from me almost daily. But he often tells me that he has no peace of mind and that it torments him to think of his exiled brothers leading an obscure life in the Kamyaka forest. The unfair play with dice of Sakuni, and Dushasana’s insult to Draupadi are rankling in his soul. Probably the errand on which I now go to him will gladden his heart.

H: What’s that?

C: Indra observed Arjuna gazing at Urvasi on that day and he now thinks that perhaps he is yearning after her. Yesterday he called me to him and smilingly bade me tell her that she should wait upon that hero among men. I don’t know his purpose, but I must obey.

H: Let me give you a tip. Varudhini told me the other day that from the time Urvasi saw Arjuna in the court hall, she is enamoured of him. Since the way is thus clear, you can work upon her mind by extolling to her the virtues of Arjuna.

C: Ah, Urvasi also pining! Then our task is easy. Thank you for this good news, Haha! (Exeunt)

Scene II

(A room in Urvasi’s pleasure-house overlooking the Mandakini. Well-furnished, with walls of crystal, and the floor inlaid with precious stones of various colours harmonising with one another, the room has in one corner an alcove containing musical instruments. From the wall hangs a picture of the ancient King Pururavas, dominating the whole.

On a divan Urvasi is seated with Varudhini. Sorrow and anxiety are on Urvasi’s face; and from Varudhini’s sitting close to her and looking around furtively, and from their occasional whispers, it is evident they are exchanging confidences.)

Varudhini: This heart-ache is quite unworthy of one of our tribe, sister. We should be more cautious and never give ourselves away. Men are our toys, and we should play with them. Coquetry is our weapon.

Urvasi: True, but I wonder why I am yielding to passion. That body-less god Cupid was ever my accomplice, but in the case of Arjuna, he has turned traitor.

V: You are the foremost of Apsarasas, and this pining after a human being on your part must lower your reputation.

U: This is not the first time I loved a man; I was once the Queen of Pururavas. See, see him yonder. Is it not a picture as great as the man? I painted it myself. It is hanging there proudly, not because I care for him now, but because it reminds me of my triumph over a man. Pururavas, a mere man–but a man who had the courage to fly up to heaven to take to earth the sacred fire for sacrificial altars! A mighty man! But I made him love-mad!

From the time I set eyes on Arjuna in Indra’s court, a strange unrest has taken possession of me. He shared Indra’s throne, and, as he sat by his father’s side, he looked like the moon himself. His matted locks shone with unusual effulgence. A sacred fire gleamed in his lotus-red eyes. I have tried many a time to entice him in the hall of Chitrasena, where he watches us dance and sing. But I always found him too absorbed in the dances and songs to pay any heed to my amorous looks. His form flits before me and keeps me awake every night. Oh, my unfulfilled desire makes me ashamed of myself! Can you not tell me of some art or wile whereby I can trap him into my net?

V: It is a pity we women want to be loved instead of being content merely with loving. Your wish may come to naught. Walking along the banks of the Bhagirathi one evening, I met the attendant of this Arjuna casually questioned him, “How fares your Lord?” He said, “From time he obtained the mighty war weapons from Indra, he is panting for home. He is sleeping less, eating less and abjuring all company.” What does that mean, Urvasi? He is tired of the joys of heaven!

U: Then, there is no time to lose. He may quit at any moment, Varudhini. A thought strikes me. Why not I run to Chitrasena and seek his advice? He has become a bosom friend of Arjuna. They say there is no secret of the latter that the former does not know.

V: Look, Urvasi, he comes. Yes, Chitrasena. Tell him all and take his advice, if it suits you! (Exit)

(Enter Chitrasena)

U: You are thrice welcome, King. I was just now planning to go to your mansion.

C: Well met, then! May our meeting end as propitiously! May I know why you wanted to meet me?

U: It is a matter which touches me most intimately.

C: What is that?

U: (Blushing) A man stole my heart without his knowing it. And I can’t get his love. My pride as the captivator of men is laid low. My charms have lost their power.

C: (Smiling) Who is he that hath so afflicted the foremost of our celestial beauties?

U: (Stutters) Phal-gu-na!

C: Don’t grieve, O lady of faultless features. I come to you from the King of Heaven to help you out of this distress of thine!

U: Am I so fortunate?

C: Yes, Indra has heard with joy that Arjuna cast long lingering looks on you, when you danced in his presence.

U: Indra knows! O, King, your news is balm to my oppressed heart. I am so happy already.

C: And I too am glad that your choice has fallen on one who is acclaimed the greatest among all mankind. He is handsome, virtuous, ready-witted, withal a man of great might. He is admired in heaven and on earth alike. Entirely free from malice, and of a forgiving temper, he is kind to those devoted to him. The Lord of Heaven being highly pleased with him, has granted him many kinds of war implements to protect him against his foes.

U: Your recitation of my lover’s virtues only fans the flame of my passion for him.

C: (To himself) My work is half-done, in that the flame is already there. (Aloud) But, O lady, there is a snag.

U: Ah, what?

C: His body is here, but all his thoughts are with his brothers. Having secured the weapons he wanted from Indra, he is eager to go to earth! Moreover, through his penances and austerities he has acquired such power of self-control that even the angels regard him as a Rishi. Though he gladly learnt all the secrets of the fine arts from me, he has scrupulously kept aloof from damsels like you. You know this yourself.

U: Yes, I tried many a time to attract his attention, but he seems to be heavily armoured against the blandishments of woman.

C: Indra thinks that his son should be not only perfect in War and in the Arts but also in Love,–in the supremely delicate art of acquitting one-self gloriously in the company of women. You are the only woman that can teach him this!

U: I shall be doubly happy if I succeed, for, in serving the Lord of Heaven, I serve myself.

C: Then I will leave you to your plans and devices. Before I leave, may I give you one bit of advice? If I have studied the son of Kunti aright he cannot be won by wiles and blandishments. Lay bare your heart before him. Tell him that his virtues have made you his vassal. Rouse his pity. That is the only way! Success attend on you! (Exit)

Scene III

(Arjuna’s mansion. It is a wing of Indra’s palace and stands over-looking the celestial Ganga. The Pandava hero, whose body is blue like a mass of blue clouds, sits brooding over the future, in the main hall of the mansion. Idle and limp hang his long arms scarred by the bowstring. His curly hair, matted in many places owing to his long fasts and the rigorous penances he practised for meeting Shiva; is loose and uncombed, but shines with a bright lustre. His eyes have a dreamy look. Though a prince and a guest of the Lord of Heaven, he is not clad in costly attire but in the very simple raiment worn by him when an exile with his brothers in Kamyaka forest. He is homesick; the sight of the beautiful Apsarasas bathing in the waters of the celestial stream, clad in gossamer costumes, attracts him not.)

Arjun: (To himself) The gods are kind to me. With their help, I have obtained arms of various kinds with which I can give a good account of myself on the day of reckoning. How can I be sufficiently grateful to Indra for the Asani and the Vajra? And how can I forget Chitrasena for the arts of music and dance he so kindly taught me? No father has made his son’s life sweeter than Indra has during these five years. Five years! Methinks they have glided by like five hours. They say there is nothing a man lacks while in heaven. But the joys of these delightful realms are already palling on me. The music of heaven fills me with a strange discontent. The food of the immortals no longer delights my palate. I dream of my brothers and of Draupadi–ah! The noblest of women! Would that I could rejoin them at once and show them all my weapons and my arts!

(Enter Chitrasena)

Welcome, friend. (Arjuna offers him a seat.)

C: I bring you good news, O son of Kunti!

A: Your very coming is good news; any news about Kunti, my mother?

C: I come from Indra. He is greatly pleased with your bearing and your devotion.

A: I rejoice he thinks well of me. What more?

C: He thinks so well of you–that he will at last grant you your wish to return to your maudlin earth!

A: Happy tidings, indeed!

C: Why? Are you so soon disgusted with this heaven-world?
A: The Earth calls me, and my brothers and sweet Draupadi! The mighty powers gathered in me, through the grace of the Lord of the Celestials, are waiting for fulfillment. Destiny wills that I should play my part in the fight against the powers of evil unleashed by Duryodhana.

C: May you fulfil your purpose! I have, however, one thing to tell you as my pupil.

A: I am ready to obey you.

C: When you go , teach your fellow mortals the Gandharva arts, for it is by these men will get a foretaste of the divine bliss even while they dwell on earth.

A: I shall do your behest. As my ancestor Pururavas brought the sacrificial fire from heaven to earth, so it shall be said of me that I bore Sama and Gita to my fellow-men as a boon from the gods.

C: Your name shall become a legend as one whose Brahmacharya was blessed by the gods. Armed with the powers of the spirit, may you avoid temptation and use the divine weapons to strike down unrighteousness! Success attend you! (Exit)

A: I can never forget the kindness of this friend.

(Enter an attendant)

Attendant: My Lord! Urvasi, the foremost of Apsarasas, craves to be admitted into your presence.

A: Ask her to come in.

Attendant: She has already entered! (Exit)

(Urvasi looks fresh after a bath. Decked and toileted in her best, with her crisp long plaits twined with bunches of flowers, and with only a thin veil, she walks glamorously forward with graceful steps. Her heart inflamed with desire, she seems to spread a sensation of delight all round. A breath of wind in the cool moonlight bears towards Arjuna the aroma of her perfumed body.)

A: (Eyeing her from a distance) Ah, a glorious vision! Can woman be as beautiful as this? My left eye quivers. An evil omen! May the gods avert the evil! I wonder why she breaks in on my silence at this strange hour. (Advancing a few steps towards her) O, foremost of the Apsarasas, I bend my head before you. Please be seated. (Urvasi sits.) May I know your commands?

U: (With a luminous smile) O son of Pandu, you are Heaven’s guest. Hearing that you are shortly going to the earth, I have come to give you my best wishes and those of all my kin.

A: Great honour, indeed!

U: But I have a grievance against you.

A: (Surprised) Never even in thought have I injured anybody since my coming here. Tell me how I have offended! O, best of dancers, tell me,–I am ready to make amends.

U: Do you remember the day the Lord of Heaven held a reception in honour of your visit?

A: Yes–an unforgettable day!

U: O, lion among men, thither came then the Siddhas and Charanas, Yakshas and Nagas, and great Rishis. At the orders of Mahendra the Gandharvas began to strike the Veenas and pour forth charming music.

A: I shall ever remember that day as one of the happiest in my life.

U: Do you remember that I danced the Dance of Uma? As I danced, keeping time to the melody, I was struck by a shaft that upset me and disturbed the execution of the finale.

A: (Aside) I know not what she is driving at! (Aloud) I did not noticed then….

U: It was the shaft of Love. You had regarded me with a gaze that seemed to pierce me like a flame of passion. Pardon me, O son of Pritha, for this frankness in a woman. That gaze has been haunting me night and day ever since, making me listless and robbing me of all interest in other things. I love you! The more I try to quench that flame, the more it burns. They say you are kind to those devoted to you. I implore you!

A: (Distressed, and closing his ears with both his hands) O, blessed lady, fie on my ears for hearing what thou hast spoken. Desire has misled thee. I did not look on thee with eyes of lust. Even as Uma, whom thou impersonated in the dance, or Sachi the Queen of Indra, or the peerless Kunti–so art thou to me. It is true these eyes expanded with delight on seeing thy matchless beauty, but all the while I was thinking, “Even this lady is the mother of the Paurava race, of which I am an off-spring.” Thou art the mother of my race.

U: Your moral code is of the earth. It is not binding on us immortals, who have triumphed over age and death. We are free and unrestricted in our choice. Didst thou not know that the sons and grandsons of Puru’s race that come hither on account of their merit sport with us?

A: There is only one law and that is the law of Dharma; and that applies to gods and men alike. It says there is only one world, the world of spirits into which we all enter. All other worlds are false. Entry into this world becomes possible only to those who have subdued their senses and passions and become aware of themselves as souls.

U: Then, why do men perform sacrifices? Is it not to come here after death and enjoy our company?

A: True, but such joys are short-lived, and after the term of their spell is over, down these men go again. They are bound by Karma. Ignorant men call death the passing away of the life from the body and are afraid of it. But death is something far different from this. When man forgets that he is a spirit, a child of God, and yields to lust, anger and desire, then he dies though he thinks he is alive. True immortality is freedom from the shackles of Karma.

U: (Angrily) Then, is our immortality spurious? Let me show you what a celestial can do. Since thou hast disregarded a woman who has come to your abode at the commands of Indra and of her own free will, and trampled upon her freely offered love, I curse thee. An appropriate curse it shall be! Listen! Thy fate it shall be to become a eunuch–neither man nor woman, for to me, a woman, you have not behaved like a man. Neither Man nor Woman!

A: Urvasi! What a dreadful curse!

U: Listen, again. All the time I was throwing my glances as a net over you, your eyes and ears were studying the rhythmic mazes, as though you were a dancing teacher! Therefore, you shall become a dancing master–despised by women for your lack of manhood’s hardy virtues, and mocked by men for your lack of womanhood’s sweet graces. How do these curses sound in your ears? Some more I can think of–.

A: Terrible curses! Oh, take them , mother, take them . Are you not a mother unto me, the mother of the Paurava race to which I belong? Eunuch!–what shall happen then to the sword, the bow and the axe I have learnt to wield, to throw against the Kaurava hosts! Oh, mother, how can a mother’s bosom be so cruel?

U: Mother, mother! Fool I Have I ever suckled foolish little babes at my bosom! Nay, nay, my curses shall come to pass. (Her lips quiver in wrath, and, panting, she goes.)

A: (Rising, and plunged in thought). Is this your fate, Arjuna!

Scene IV

(Arjuna’s mansion, Indra and Arjuna are conversing.)

Indra: (Touching Arjuna on the head) Verily, Kunti is blessed, having begotten such as thee. Thou hast become even greater than a Rishi by thy purity, patience and self-control. The five and ten weapons thou hast acquired from me, together with the mode of using them, will make thee invincible in the three worlds. But the preceptor’s fee has to be paid. (Smiles)

A: Most willingly shall I do it–command me, my Liege.

I: Kill with these weapons the thirty million Danavas, the Nivata Kavachas that dwell in the heart of the Ocean. When thou art in the battlefield, Bhishma, Drona and Karna shall be eclipsed by thy prowess. But take heed that these extraordinary weapons are not hurled against common mortals. This is the fee, I ask–promise!

A: I do promise. As charity should not be shown to the undeserving, these weapons shall not be wasted on the unworthy.

I: Yes, but to the evil-doers, no pity!–slay them forthright. But about this thou wilt learn more from Krishna, the Lord that knows and guides all.

A: Adored father, in this Swarga where there is no distress, one fear haunts me.

I: Urvasi’s curse?

A: Yes, have you heard?

I: Chitrasena told me all–for he met her as she burst forth from your room in fury.

A: I dread that curse–so mysterious! When will it take effect? Or, has she taken her curse, with a big maternal heart?

I: No, not she–nor is it possible to withdraw curses. But it shall turn to thy benefit. It shall serve thee when it pleases thee!

A: When it pleases me? Then I never will please to take it upon me! Thus shall I avert it.

I: Why avert it? Has it not been ordained that after twelve years of forest life, the thirteenth should be spent by you five in disguise? Why not disguise thyself then as a eunuch by this curse of Urvasi? Urvasi’s curse shall take effect then. She relented to this extent. For one year, live as a dancer among court ladies–a place where thy body’s scars of many battles will not betray thee to the eyes of a curious world!

A: Gone are my fears! I am perfectly happy, father.

I: One word! Wear thou this diadem, (placing it on Arjuna’s head) and take this shell and these gems. Perhaps Draupadi will be delighted have them, as the like of them cannot be had on earth. I have asked the great seer Lomasa to inform thy brothers of thy doings here. Before thou rejoinest them thou shalt have to fight the demons’ race. Matali will fetch the Vimana presently. May thy passage to the earth be fair! The gods are with thee.

A: I am overjoyed. Thou hast filled me with a new life. May I be worthy of it! Curious weapons there are in my armory–gifts of my father. More curious than these, the curse of Mother Urvasi–the most powerful disguise I could think of.

Curtain.