Text 42
gandharvān upadhāvemāṁs
tubhyaṁ dāsyanti mām iti
tasya saṁstuvatas tuṣṭā
agni-sthālīṁ dadur nṛpa
urvaśīṁ manyamānas tāṁ
so ’budhyata caran vane
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.
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.
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.