The source comes from the people. Toumanian heard it for the first time from his former classmate of Nersisyan School, later pedagogue and linguist Gr. Vantsyan. "Grigor heard it in Akhalkalak, – the poet wrote in one of his pocketbooks. – Parvana (fire butterfly). The king had a daughter and promised to give her to the one who would bring fire. They come around the fire to take some of it and always fall into the fire and get burned".

After Toumanian heard his friend's story, he visited the Lake Parvana and nearby villages and probably he heard the same storytelling from other people too. Avetik Isahakyan wrote about this "…In September 1901 Ohannes came to Aleksandrapol from Abastuman, where he got treatment. On his way he stopped in Akhalkalak, visited the Lake Parvana, the famous legend of which he had been thinking about for a long time. He heard the Tmuk fortress legend. He couldn't visit the fortress, but he looked at it from the slopes of Abul Mountain with a telescope, the pyramids of which were clearly outlined in the distance. He spoke enthusiastically about the legends of Parvana and Tmuk fortress: in his imagination, those faint poems slowly came to life.

I remember like today that he recited the first rehearsal of the prelude to “The Tmuk Fortress”, much to my admiration”.

From the poet’s July 18, 1909 letter to Mariam Toumanian:

“So much memories and unforgettable moments are connected in this or that small, peaceful, quiet corner of Abastuman, - writes Toumanian, - I dreamed a lot and wrote some of my good things there. That's where I developed “Anoush”, that's where I wrote “Parvana” and other things – and yes, "The Capture of the Fortress of Tmuk”.

THE stately Mountains of Aboul and Muttin,
Standing majestically back to back,
Bear upon their shoulders a land
Higher even than that of Djavakhek.

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