Once on a time there was a king of the name of Purúravas, who was a devoted worshipper of Vishnu; he traversed heaven as well as earth without opposition, and one day, as he was sauntering in Nandana, the garden of the gods, a certain Apsaras of the name of Urvasí, who was a second stupefying weapon [222] in the hands of Love, cast an eye upon him. The moment she beheld him, the sight so completely robbed her of her senses, that she alarmed the timid minds of Rambhá and her other friends. The king too, when he saw that torrent of the nectar of beauty, was quite faint with thirst, because he could not obtain possession of her. Then Vishnu, who knoweth all, dwelling in the sea of milk, gave the following command to Nárada, an excellent hermit, who came to visit him--"O Divine sage, [223] the king Purúravas, at present abiding in the garden of Nandana, having had his mind captivated by Urvasí, remains incapable of bearing the pain of separation from his love. Therefore go, O hermit, and informing Indra as from me, cause that Urvasí to be quickly given to the king." Having received this order from Vishnu, Nárada undertook to execute it, and going to Purúravas who was in the state described, roused him from his lethargy and said to him;--"Rise up, O king, for thy sake I am sent here by Vishnu, for that god does not neglect the sufferings of those who are unfeignedly devoted to him." With these words, the hermit Nárada cheered up Purúravas, and then went with him into the presence of the king of the gods.