A class of heavenly nymphs known for their beauty, elegance, and irresistible appeal in Hindu mythology.
- When ascetics and sages grow too strong, one of their primary mythological roles is to seduce them.
- Because ascetics practice celibacy, which is thought to increase spiritual strength, effective ascetics may become competitors to the gods.
- Sexual activity can rapidly deplete the ascetic's strength, but it can also offer other advantages to the world, like as the birth of offspring, which is always the consequence of such close interactions.
- Indra, the ruler of heaven, sends the apsaras on their missions because any ascetic who acquires too much strength would be able to seize Indra's heavenly throne.
- Menaka, for example, is a well-known apsara whose seduction of the sage Vishvamitra leads to the birth of Shakuntala.
- Urvashi, for example, is known for her affair with King Pururavas.
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