Rishi Durvasa

Durvasa is the sage known for his temper. The Bhagavata Purana makes him a son of Atri and his wife Anasuya, with his brothers Dattatreya and Soma, and says the three were born as partial manifestations of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, Durvasa being the share of Shiva [Bhagavata Purana 4.1.15]. The Vishnu Purana also calls him a portion of Shankara (Shiva) [Vishnu Purana 1.9].

In the epics and Puranas he turns up as a guest. He tests the patience of those who feed him, curses when he feels slighted, and gives boons to those who pass the test. The curses are what he is remembered for. They move the plots of several famous stories: the churning of the ocean, the story of Ambarisha and, in Kalidasa's play, the story of Shakuntala. Not every story told about him is in the oldest texts.

1. The mantra for Kunti: Durvasa was pleased by the attentions of the young Pritha (Kunti) in Kuntibhoja's house, and gave her a formula for summoning any god she liked to give her children [Mahabharata, Adi Parva, section 111 in Ganguli].
2. Testing Mudgala: The sage Mudgala lived by gleaning grain and fed his guests from it. Durvasa visited him six times and ate all the food each time. Mudgala stayed calm, and Durvasa praised his generosity and self-control [Mahabharata, Vana Parva, section 258].
3. The garland and the curse on Indra: Durvasa was given a garland of heavenly flowers by a nymph. He passed it to Indra, who put it on the head of the elephant Airavata. The elephant threw it to the ground, and Durvasa cursed Indra that his rule over the three worlds would be lost. The gods then turned to Vishnu, and the churning of the ocean followed [Vishnu Purana 1.9].
4. Ambarisha and the Sudarshana disc: King Ambarisha was keeping an Ekadashi fast when Durvasa arrived as a guest and went to bathe. Ambarisha broke his fast with a sip of water so as not to miss the hour. Durvasa created a demon against him, and the Sudarshana disc of Vishnu pursued Durvasa until he came back to ask the king's forgiveness [Bhagavata Purana 9.4].
5. The visit to the Pandavas: Duryodhana pleased Durvasa and asked him to visit Yudhishthira in the forest after Draupadi had eaten. Durvasa came with ten thousand disciples. Draupadi prayed to Krishna, who ate a single grain left in the vessel, and the sages left without eating [Mahabharata, Vana Parva, sections 260 and 261].
6. The curse on Shakuntala: In Kalidasa's play, Durvasa curses Shakuntala for not noticing him, so that her husband forgets her until he sees his ring. The Mahabharata's version of the story has no such curse.

• Hermitages and palaces where he arrives unannounced as a guest
• The forest hermitage of the Pandavas
• Indra's heaven, in the story of the garland