Arjuna said : You have addressed me as the descendant of Tapati. I wish to know what the precise signification of this word is.

O blessed being! we are the sons of Kunti, therefore, we are Kaunteyas, but who is Tapati that we should be called Tapatyas. I desire to hear about it.

Vaishampayana said : Having been addressed by the son of Kunti, Dhananjaya, that Gandharva narrated the story who is celebrated in the three worlds.

The Gandharva said : O Partha, o foremost of all intelligent men, I shall duly narrate to you in detail this interesting story.

Here with attention what I say about the reason for which I address you as Tapatya.

He, who pervades the whole firmament by his light, had a daughter, named Tapati, equal to himself (in effulgence).

That daughter of the Vivasvata (Tapati) was the younger sister of Savitri. She was celebrated in the three worlds and devoted to asceticism.

There was none equal to her in beauty amongst the Deva, the Aura, the Yaksha, the Rakshas, the Apsara and the Gandharva lAdies.

She was perfectly semetrical in body and faultless in features; she had black and large eyes; she was attired in beautiful robes; she was chaste and exceedingly well conducted.

O descendant of Bharata, seeing her, Vivasvata thought, there was none who had beauty, accomplishments,, good behaviour and learning to be fit for her husband.

Seeing that his daughter had attained the age of puberty and that she was worthy of being bestowed on a husband, he had no peace of mind, for he always thought on whom he should bestow her.

O son of Kunti, that best of the Kurus, the son of Riksha, the mighty king Samvarana, worshipped Surya

With due offers of Arghya, garlands and scents, with being always pure and holy and with vows, fasts and asceticism of various kinds.

The descendant of Puru (Samvarana) worshipped the deity, effulgent in all his glory, with devotion, humanity and piety.

Thereupon Surya, seeing Samvarana, learned in the precepts of region and matchless in the world for his beauty, considered him to be the fittest husband for (his daughter) Tapati.

O descendant of Kuru, Surya then desired to bestow his daughter on that excellent king Samvarana of the Kuru race, who celebrated all over the world.

As Surya in the heavens fills the firmament with his splendour, so did king Samvarana fill region on the earth with the splendour of his good achievements.

O Partha, as men learned in the Vedas worship the sun manifests in all his glory, so did all men except the Brahmanas worship Samvarana.

Blessed with good fortune, the king (Samvarana) excelled Soma (moon) in soothing the hearts of friends and Surya (sun) scorching the hearts of the enemies.

O descendant of Kuru, Tapana himself resolved upon bestowing Tapati on the king (Samvarana) endued with such virtue and accomplishments.

O Partha, once a time that king, blessed with good fortune and endued with great prowess, went out to hunt in the woods on the mountains.

When thus hunting, the horse of that king of the Kuru race was overcome with hunger and thirst and he (horse) died on the mountains.

O Partha, abandoning the dead horse, the king walked on the mountain and saw a maiden of large eyes and matchless beauty.

That chastiser of foes, that best of kings himself being alone and the maiden being also alone, stood motionless and he steadfastly gazed at her.

The king regarded her for her beauty as the goddess Lakshmi. He regarded her beauty to be the embodiment of the rays emanating from the sun.

In splendour of body, she resembled a flame of fire and in benignity and loveliness she resembled the spotless disc of the moon.

The black eyed maiden, standing on the mountain breast, looked like a bright statue of gold.

I consequence of the beauty and splendour of that maiden the mountain itself with its creepers and plants appeared as if it has been converted into gold.

The sight of that maiden inspired the king with a contempt for all the women of the world that he had seen before. Seeing her, the king considered his eyes blessed.

Nothing that the king has seen from the day of his birth could equal, he argued, the beauty of that girl.

(He thought) “The creator has created the beauty of this beautiful eyed maiden after churning the whole world of the Devas and the Asuras and the human beings." The king's heart and eyes were captivated by that maiden, as if they became bound in ropes; he remained rooted to the spot deprived of his senses.

Thus arguing, the king Samvarana considered that maiden as matchless in the wealth of her beauty in the three worlds.

The king of the noble birth, seeing that blessed beauty, was pierced by the arrows of the god of love.

Having been brunt in the very scorching fire of Kama (desire), he (the king) thus spoke to that charming maiden, still innocent through in her full youth.

The Samvarana said : O lady of tapering things, who and whose are you? Why are you staying here? O lady of sweet smiles, why do you wander alone in these solitary woods?

You are perfectly faultless in your every feature; decked in every ornament, you seem to be the coveted ornament of those ornaments themselves. You seem to be not a Devi or an Asuri, or a Lakshmi, or a Rakshasi; you are not a Nagini or a Gandharvi or a Manushi.

O excellent lady, the best of women that I have seen or heard of can not equal you in beauty.

O lady of beautiful feature, seeing your face which is lovelier than the moon and your eyes like the lotus leaves, I am oppressed by the god of love.

The Gandharva said : The king, oppressed desire, thus addressed her in the solitary woods, but the did not speak a word in reply.

When the king repeatedly asked her thus, the large-eyed maiden quickly disappeared in the very sight of the king like a flash of lightning.

The king then, like one who has loss his reason, wandered through the whole forest in search of that lotus eyed maiden.

Having failed to find her, that best of kings gave vent to much lamentations and he remained motionless in grief for sometime.