There are many legends about the birth of Urvashi but the following one is most prevalent.

Once the revered sages Nara-narayana was meditating in the holy shrine of Badrinath situated in the Himalayas. Indra, the king of the Gods, did not want the sage to acquire divine powers through meditation and sent two apsaras to distract him. The sage struck his thigh and created a woman so beautiful that Indra’s apsaras were left matchless. This was Urvashi, named from ur, the Sanskrit word for thigh. After his meditation was complete the sage gifted Urvashi to Indra, and she occupied the pride of place in Indra’s court.

Ur also means heart and vash means to control, hence Urvashi is also the name of a woman who conquers the heart. According to the etymology of the poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', Urvashi also means a lady who invokes utter desire in men.

Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' composed an epic poem titled Urvashi. Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar's language and imagery reflected elements of the romantic sensibility but he made them a vehicle of his dramatic, narrative style, as seen in Urvashi (1961) for which he received the Jnanpith Award in 1972. Urvashi is the eternal woman whom man can only desire but never possess. Urvashi is also one of the protagonists in Kalidasa's play Vikram?rva??yam.

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar described the deep feminine characteristics in 'Urvashi' which is extremely moody, seductive and jealous. Urvashi being a fictional character brings herself in reality with the words he used. The speciality of Urvashi is not just her being woman but to send a message through ripples of love that has its own life, where life is a middle path beyond birth of love and aversion too. So, at first look it might seem that Urvashi is in palace or the imagination of greatest beauty but we get more of the life by being grasped in the singing Urvashi of Shri Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.