Devanagari
गन्धर्वानुपधावेमांस्तुभ्यं दास्यन्ति मामिति ।
तस्य संस्तुवतस्तुष्टा अग्निस्थालीं ददुर्नृप ।
उर्वशीं मन्यमानस्तां सोऽबुध्यत चरन् वने ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
gandharvān upadhāvemāṁs
tubhyaṁ dāsyanti mām iti
tasya saṁstuvatas tuṣṭā
agni-sthālīṁ dadur nṛpa
urvaśīṁ manyamānas tāṁ
so ’budhyata caran vane
Synonyms
gandharvān
—
unto the Gandharvas
;
upadhāva
—
go take shelter
;
imān
—
these
;
tubhyam
—
unto you
;
dāsyanti
—
will deliver
;
mām iti
—
exactly like me, or me factually
;
tasya
—
by him
;
saṁstuvataḥ
—
offering prayers
;
tuṣṭāḥ
—
being satisfied
;
agni
—
sthālīm — a girl produced from fire
;
daduḥ
—
delivered
;
nṛpa
—
O King
;
urvaśīm
—
Urvaśī
;
manya
—
mānaḥ — thinking
;
tām
—
her
;
saḥ
—
he (Purūravā)
;
abudhyata
—
understood factually
;
caran
—
while walking
;
vane
—
in the forest .
Translation
Urvaśī said: “My dear King, seek shelter of the Gandharvas, for they will be able to deliver me to you again.” In accordance with these words, the King satisfied the Gandharvas by prayers, and the Gandharvas, being pleased with him, gave him an Agnisthālī girl who looked exactly like Urvaśī. Thinking that the girl was Urvaśī, the King began walking with her in the forest, but later he could understand that she was not Urvaśī but Agnisthālī.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Urvaśī said: "My dear King, seek shelter of the Gandharvas, for they will be able to deliver me to you again." In accordance with these words, the King satisfied the Gandharvas by prayers, and the Gandharvas, being pleased with him, gave him a sacrificial vessel. Thinking that the girl was Urvaśī, the King began walking with her in the forest, but later he could understand that she was not Urvaśī but a vessel.
When he praised the Gandharvas, they were pleased with him, and gave him a sacrificial vessel so that he would attain Urvaśī by performing a fire sacrifice. But because of complete infatuation with Urvaśī, blinded by love, he thought that the vessel was Urvaśī. Wandering in the forest with that vessel, when it came to time for sex, he understood it was not her.
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that Purūravā was very lusty. Immediately after getting the Agnisthālī girl, he wanted to have sex with her, but during sexual intercourse he could understand that the girl was Agnisthālī, not Urvaśī. This indicates that every man attached to a particular woman knows the particular characteristics of that woman during sex life. Thus Purūravā understood during sexual intercourse that the Agnisthālī girl was not Urvaśī.