Vishvavasu is the king of Gandharvas in Hindu religion. Gandharvas are proficient in singing, playing musical instruments and dancing. They are also the lords of young maidens until they get married. As chief of gandharvas, Visvavasu is denizen of heavenly swarga and moves between the world of the gods and men. His consort is the celestial damsel Menaka.
In the Mahabharata (Adi Parva), Vishvavasu helps to extricate the apsara Urvashi from the palace of King Pururava, who had fallen madly in love with her. As a heavenly maiden, Urvashi was not supposed to live with a human, so Vishwavasu was assigned the task of retrieving Urvashi by making the king appear naked before her; it was a condition laid down by Urvashi that he should not be seen naked by her. Vishvavasu stole two favorite pet lamps of Urvashi in the middle of the night and she cried out entreating Pururava to save them. He ran after them in his naked state and was thus seen by her, so she was able to leave him and return to Svarga.
Visvavasu is instrumental in rainfall and therefore has the stature of a deity in the Vedas. Another Vishvavasu of the same name is the eldest son of King Kakushtha of the Ikshvaku dynasty. A third Visvavasu mentioned in Hindu Puranas is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka, and brother of Parasurama.