Apsara

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Dancing apsaras on a pillar of the Bayon (Angkor, Cambodia)

Apsaras ( Sanskrit अप्सराः Apsarāḥ , f., Pali Accharā , Chinese Feitian or 天 女 , Tiānnǚ , Japanese Tennyo ) are half-human, half-divine women in Hindu and parts of Buddhist mythology who live in the palace of the god Indra . Apsaras are also considered to be the " spirits " of clouds and waters and in this respect they can be compared to the nymphs of Greek and Roman mythology .

Apsaras in Hinduism

In the Rigveda , which began around 1200 BC. Veda , which originated in BC and is therefore the oldest , is called an apsara as the companion of Gandharva , who is a personification of the light of the sun and who prepares the god potion Soma .

In later writings the number of apsaras increases. Created by Brahma , they are “ladies-in-waiting” in the heavenly palace of the god Indra . As heavenly dancers, they are the companions of the Gandharvas, now also mentioned in greater numbers, who are described as heavenly musicians. The main task of the Apsaras and Gandharvas is to entertain the gods and goddesses. Some myths also tell of the fact that Apsaras became their companions after the death of particularly deserving heroes or kings.

Among all apsaras - according to tradition, a total of 26 inhabit the heavenly palace - Rambha , Urvashi , Menaka and Tilottama occupy a special position. These four are repeatedly sent out by Indra to the people on earth in order to seduce and dissuade sages who, with their abstinence and their striving for spiritual perfection, threaten to become a danger to Indra or other gods supremacy. For example, in the Ramayana the story is told of how Indra sends the Apsara Menaka to the Brahmin Vishvamitra in order to distract him from his meditation , which she also succeeds in doing.

The names of many of the Apsaras known from the great Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana are popular women's names in India; including, for example, Urvashi (the most beautiful of the Apsaras), Menaka , Rambha , Parnika , Parnita , Subhuja , Vishala , Vasumati (Apsara "of incomparable splendor") and Surotama .

Apsaras in Angkor

Bayon style apsaras, Musee Guimet , Paris

Apsaras were given a special place in the Khmer mythology at the time of the historical kingdom of Kambuja , with the capital now known as Angkor (9th to 15th centuries, Cambodia ). A legend tells of the fact that King Jayavarman II , who is considered the founder of the Kambuja kingdom, was assigned the kingdom of Indra, the king of the gods. At the same time, the Apsaras presented the art of dance to the people of Kambuja.

On many temple walls in Angkor there are relief representations of apsaras, mostly with outward knees dancing on lotus blossoms , sometimes also flying; the upright, often flower-bearing goddesses, on the other hand, are devata .

The tradition of courtly dance in Cambodia, sometimes called the Apsara dance , goes back to the royal court in Angkor. This elaborate dance also had a great influence on the development of the Thai dance art, which is better known in the west .

Apsaras in Buddhism

Gods and heavenly beings generally play only a subordinate and insignificant role in Buddhism . They are considered to be beings on other levels of existence than humans, but, like the inhabitants of the earth, are subject to the cycle of life, death and reincarnation (see also samsara and wheel of life ).

Apsaras can be found, for example, in a story of the Jatakas ("birth stories") in which the deeds of the Buddha in his previous life are told. The Catudvara-Jataka reports of the greedy Mittavinda , who is devoted to worldly pleasures , and who on his travels also meets some Apsaras. In the end he is taught by Buddha - in one of his earlier incarnations as a Bodhisattva - that all worldly pleasures are perishable.

In East and Southeast Asia in particular , apsaras were also included in Buddhist iconography in the course of syncretism . Representations can also be found in Buddhist temples in today 's People's Republic of China , Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia .

photos

  • Apsara with sitar , China ; Longmen Grottoes ; 4th-6th century

  • dancing apsara, angkor

  • 3 dancing apsaras, Angkor

  • Cambodian apse dancer

literature

  • Apsaras . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, pp. 19-20 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  • Jan Knappert: Lexicon of Indian Mythology. Heyne, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-453-07817-9 , p. 52.
  • Eckard Schleberger: The Indian gods. Shape, expression and symbol. A handbook of Hindu iconography. Diederichs, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-424-00898-2 , p. 162.

Web links

Commons : Apsara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johann Reinhart Zieger: Angkor and the temples of the Khmer in Cambodia . Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2006, ISBN 974-9575-60-1 , pp. 194-195.