Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Purii-ravas is the name of a hero in a hymn of the Rigveda1 containing a curious dialogue between him and a nymph, Urvaei, an Apsaras. He is also mentioned in the Satapatha Brahmana,2 where several verses of the Rigvedic dialogue find a setting in a continuous story. In the later literature he is recognized as a king.3 His name is perhaps intended in one other passage of the Rigveda.' It is impossible to say whether he is a mythical figure pure and simple, or really an ancient king. His epithet, Aila,5 'descendant of 1915' (a sacrificial goddess), is certainly in favour of the former alternative.