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Apsaras, the celestial entertainers of Indra's court are said to be able to change their shapes at will. Urvasi , Menaka , Rambha and Tilottama are the most famous among Apsaras who are well versed in the art of music and dancing. The total number of Apsaras at Indra's court is 23, each representing an distinct aspect of the performing art. (compare with the ancient Greek muse).

Apsaras are the wives of the Gandharva's, court servants of Indra. They danced to the music made by their husbands, usually in the various gods' palaces. In India, it is popularly believed that some of the outstanding Odissi and Bharata Natyam dancers, such as Medha Hari, are the incarnations of apsaras.

The Apsara was associated with fertility rites. In Hinduism, the lower Apsaras (also Vrikshakas, fairies) are sometimes referred to as nature spirit s.

The Apsara were very beautiful and sometimes lured men to their deaths.

Apsaras are often depicted in BuddhistTian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhrtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; in Pli, Siddhattha Gotama , who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. artMona Lisa Although today the word art usually refers to the visual arts, the concept of what art is has continuously changed over centuries. Perhaps the most concise definition is its broadest—art refers to all creative human endeavors, excluding actions as far afield as CambodiaThe Kingdom of Cambodia (Kampuchea, Khmer ) is a country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered in the south by the Gulf of Thailand, in the west by Thailand, Laos in the north, and Vietnam in the east. The majority of Cambodians are the Khmer people. Cambodia and ChinaThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute, however.


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