Offbeat: Rishi Munis used to lose their senses just by seeing these Apsaras of heaven, they used to start having relations even after being engrossed in penance

Lord Indra had many Apsaras in his court, who were extremely beautiful. Apart from their skills in dance and music, Lord Indra also used Apsaras to disturb the penance of sages. According to mythology, these Apsaras were extremely beautiful and anyone would lose their senses on seeing them.

Indra's Strategy:

Lord Indra always feared that the sages might perform severe penance and demand his throne in Indralok. Therefore, whenever he saw any sage engaged in severe penance, Indra used to send Apsaras to distract him. Many sages would get attracted to these Apsaras and lose their concentration. Here are some such examples where sages got attracted to Apsaras and had relations with them.

Menaka:

Indra sent Menaka to break the penance of sage Vishwamitra. After much effort, Menaka succeeded in breaking Vishwamitra's penance. After this Vishwamitra started living with her like husband and wife. They also had a daughter, but then Menaka went back to heaven. Realizing Indra's deceit, Vishwamitra abandoned his daughter and resumed his penance.

Rambha:

Once Sage Sheshirayana was performing his penance when his eyes fell on a beautiful Apsara Rambha. Overwhelmed by her beauty, he could not resist himself and had a relationship with Rambha which resulted in the birth of a son. Later Lord Krishna killed their son.

Urvashi:

Sage Vibhandaka was deeply absorbed in his penance which worried the gods. To disturb his penance, Urvashi was sent from heaven. Attracted by Urvashi's beauty, Vibhandaka begot a son, Sage Shringa, after which Urvashi returned to heaven and Vibhandaka continued his penance in the forest with his son.

Ghritachi:

Ghritachi was one of the most beautiful Apsaras of Indra's court. One day, Sage Bharadwaja was returning from bathing in the Ganga, and he saw Ghritachi bathing. Unable to resist her beauty, he experienced semen ejaculation. He collected it in a vessel, from which Dronacharya was born.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from In Khabar.

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