Varga narrates how the apsaras were cursed and promised redemption
Freed from her crocodile form by Arjuna, the apsara Varga explains their century of waiting. Cursed by a sage, they were directed by the divine sage Narada to specific tirthas to await the arrival of the Pandava who would end their punishment.
Arjuna had just dragged a massive crocodile from the sacred waters. On land, the reptile’s form shimmered and dissolved, revealing a radiant apsara. She introduced herself as Varga.
She had a story to tell — the story of why she and her four friends had been waiting in those waters for a hundred years.
After the sage cursed them to become crocodiles, they had left his presence in despair. Their only consolation was the condition he had set: a supreme man would one day drag them from the water and restore them. But when? And where should they wait? As they wandered in misery, the divine sage Narada appeared before them.
Seeing the devarshi (divine sage) of infinite radiance filled them with hope. They paid him homage, their sorrow plain on their faces. Narada asked the reason for their grief, and they told him everything.
Narada listened, then gave them precise instructions. “There are five tirthas in the southern marshes of the ocean. They are sacred and beautiful. Go there immediately and live there.” He then named their savior. “Pandava Dhananjaya, tiger among men, pure of soul, will certainly arrive there soon and free you from your misery.”
On hearing these words, they came to the five tirthas. Each apsara entered one of the sacred waters, taking the form of a powerful crocodile, and began their long vigil.
“O unblemished one,” Varga said to Arjuna. “It is true that you have set me free today. But my four friends are still there in the other waters.” Her request was simple, the culmination of a century of patient suffering. “O brave one! Perform a good deed and set them all free.”