Pururavas (Sanskrit: पुरूरवस्, Purūravas) is a character in Hindu literature, a king who served as the first of the Lunar dynasty.

[1] According to the Vedas, he is a legendary entity associated with Surya (the sun) and Usha (the dawn), and is believed to reside in the middle region of the cosmos.

According to the Vishnu Purana, his father was Budha, and he was ancestor of the tribe of Pururavas, from whom descended the Yadavas, Kauravas, and Pandavas of Mahābhārata.

According to the Mahabharata, Pururavas was the one to bring three kinds of fire on the earth (for sacrificial purpose) from the region of Gandharvas, where he met Urvashi and fell in love with her.

Having been united with a human king, Purūravas, and after living together for four autumns, suddenly left him on his unintentional violation of the stipulated conditions of the union.

In addition to these two levels of meaning, it also offers mantric prescriptions for a ritual activity bent on taking rebirth as a Gandharva or Apsaras.

The love story of king Pururavas and celestial nymph Urvashi is found in the Sanskrit drama, Vikramōrvaśīyam, written by the poet Kalidasa.

[9] Gudipati Venkata Chalam has authored the drama Purūravä, which has gained critical acclaim with the Telugu audience.