Tapati

In response to Arjuna’s question, the Gandharva begins to tell the story of Tapati. He describes her divine beauty, her father Surya’s search for a worthy husband, and the virtuous King Samvarana. The tale builds to their fateful, wordless meeting on a mountainside, which ends not in union, but in sudden disappearance and profound grief.

King Samvarana lies senseless on a mountain, his heart stolen by the celestial maiden Tapati who has vanished into the sky. His old minister revives him, but the king sends everyone away to begin a solitary vigil, worshipping the sun and mentally summoning the one person who can help: the sage Vashishtha.

Consumed by love for the sun god's daughter Tapati, King Samvarana performs austerities and sends his preceptor, the sage Vashishtha, as an emissary to formally ask for her hand. Vashishtha's prestige and diplomacy succeed where the king's longing alone could not.

King Samvarana remains on a mountain sporting with his new wife, Tapati, for twelve years. In his absence, Indra withholds all rain, plunging the kingdom into a famine so severe the capital resembles a city of the dead. The sage Vashishtha must intervene to bring the king home and restore the natural order.