A beautiful apsara. She excelled at seducing sages and giving birth to their sons. Her ‘victims’ included Vyasa, Kushanabha, Bharadwaja and she had a prime position among apsaras.

Vyasa longed for a son. Following advice from Narada, he began meditating to Shiva and Parvati with the ekakshara mantra and did that for a year. In that time, Vyasa’s energy enveloped the world and Indra became scared. Shiva appeared soon before Vyasa and blessed that he would have a son who was wise, famous and helpful. Vyasa went back happy. Once he was searching for wood to start a fire and began thinking of a son. He realised that he needed 2 sticks to start a fire and similarly he would need a wife to get a son. Ghritachi chose that moment to appear there, but Vyasa didn’t like this and fearing his curse, she took the form of a parrot and flew away. But Vyasa soon changed his mind about her and began thinking lustfully about her. He ejaculated and it fell on the fire stick. He didn’t realise this and kept rubbing the fire sticks. From it emerged a son who soon became famous as Shuka as per Devibhagavata Prathamaskanda.

Once, when Bharadwaja was performing his ablutions in the Ganga, Ghritachi happened to be bathing nearby. Her clothes got stuck on a stone and floated away. Bharadwaja ejaculated on seeing this and he collected it in a vessel. (drona) After some months, a child emerged from it and this was Drona as per Mahabharata Adiparva Chapter 149. From a similar incident involving the two was born Shrutavati or Shruvavati as per Mahabharata Shalyaparva Chapter 48 verse 63.

Kusha’s son Kushanabha was a rajarishi. He once fell in love with Ghritachi. They married and had a hundred daughters. Vayu once became enamoured of them and when they spurned him, he cursed them into hunchbacks. Brahmadatta, son of Chuli, cured them and married them as per Ramayana Balakanda Sarga 32.

Ghritachi once seduced a king named Pramati and their son was Ruru as per Mahabharata Adiparva Chapter 5 verse 9. She once pleased Ashtavakra and he got her a place in Kuber’s court as per Mahabharata Anushasanaparva Chapter 19 verse 44. She danced at Arjuna’s birth festival as per Mahabharata Adiparva Chapter 122 verse 65. Vishwakarma had a daughter with her named Chitrangada. Ghritachi also had a daughter named Devavati.