Chapter 15
तस्य सत्यवतीं कन्यामृचीकोऽयाचत द्विज: । वरं विसदृशं मत्वा गाधिर्भार्गवमब्रवीत् ॥ ५ ॥ एकत: श्यामकर्णानां हयानां चन्द्रवर्चसाम् । सहस्रं दीयतां शुल्कं कन्याया: कुशिका वयम् ॥ ६ ॥
Transliteration
tasya satyavatīṁ kanyām ṛcīko ’yācata dvijaḥ varaṁ visadṛśaṁ matvā gādhir bhārgavam abravītekataḥ śyāma-karṇānāṁ hayānāṁ candra-varcasām sahasraṁ dīyatāṁ śulkaṁ kanyāyāḥ kuśikā vayam
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
tasya — of Gādhi; satyavatīm — Satyavatī; kanyām — the daughter; ṛcīkaḥ — the great sage Ṛcīka; ayācata — requested; dvijaḥ — the brāhmaṇa; varam — as her husband; visadṛśam — not equal or fit; matvā — thinking like that; gādhiḥ — King Gādhi; bhārgavam — unto Ṛcīka; abravīt — replied; ekataḥ — by one; śyāma-karṇānām — whose ear is black; hayānām — horses; candra-varcasām — as brilliant as the moonshine; sahasram — one thousand; dīyatām — please deliver; śulkam — as a dowry; kanyāyāḥ — to my daughter; kuśikāḥ — in the family of Kuśa; vayam — we (are).
Translation
“King Gādhi had a daughter named Satyavatī, whom a brāhmaṇa sage named Ṛcīka requested from the King to be his wife. King Gādhi, however, regarded Ṛcīka as an unfit husband for his daughter, and therefore he told the brāhmaṇa, “My dear sir, I belong to the dynasty of Kuśa. Because we are aristocratic kṣatriyas, you have to give some dowry for my daughter. Therefore, bring at least one thousand horses, each as brilliant as moonshine and each having one black ear, whether right or left.””