Wisdom Quarterly (Making sense of Indian mythology with Wikipedia)
A story type or theme appearing over and over again in the Mahabharata is that of a deva (apsara) sent to distract a sage or spiritual master from ascetic practices. One story embodying this theme is recounted by the epic heroine Shakuntala to explain her own parentage. Once upon a time, she recounts, the sage Viswamitra generated such intense energy by his asceticism that Sakka (Indra), the chief of the devas, became fearful.
Deciding that the sage would have to be distracted from his austerities, he sent the deva Menaka to work her charms. Menaka trembled at the thought of angering such a powerful ascetic. But she obeyed the chief of the deva's order. As she approached Viswamitra, the wind deva Vayu tore away her garments. Seeing her disrobed, the sage abandoned himself to lust. The nymph and sage engaged in sex for some time, during which time Viswamitra's asceticism was put on hold. As a consequence, Menaka gave birth to a daughter, whom she abandoned on the banks of a river. That daughter was the narrator of the story, Shakuntala herself. The Mahabharata documents the exploits of individual devas, such as Tilottama, who rescued the world from the rampaging asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda, and Urvashi, who attempted to seduce the hero Arjuna. More>>
