Devanagari
देवेऽवर्षति काशीश: श्वफल्कायागताय वै ।
स्वसुतां गान्दिनीं प्रादात् ततोऽवर्षत् स्म काशिषु ॥ ३२ ॥
Verse text
deve ’varṣati kāśīśaḥ
śvaphalkāyāgatāya vai
sva-sutāṁ gāṇdinīṁ prādāt
tato ’varṣat sma kāśiṣu
Synonyms
deve
—
when the demigod, Lord Indra
;
avarṣati
—
had not been supplying rain
;
kāśī
—
īśaḥ — the King of Benares
;
śvaphalkāya
—
to Śvaphalka (Akrūra’s father)
;
āgatāya
—
who had come
;
vai
—
certainly
;
sva
—
his own
;
sutām
—
daughter
;
gāndinīm
—
Gāndinī
;
prādāt
—
gave
;
tataḥ
—
then
;
avarṣat
—
it rained
;
sma
—
indeed
;
kāśiṣu
—
in the kingdom of Kāśī .
Translation
[The elders said:] Previously, when Lord Indra had withheld rain from Kāsī [Benares], the king of that city gave his daughter Gāndinī to Śvaphalka, who was then visiting him. It soon rained in the kingdom of Kāśī.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[The elders said:] Previously, when Lord Indra had withheld rain from Kāsī [Benares], the king of that city gave his daughter Gāndinī to Śvaphalka, who was then visiting him. It soon rained in the kingdom of Kāśī.
KB 10.57.32
Once in the province of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) there was severe drought—practically no rain fell. At that time the King of Kāśī arranged the marriage of his daughter, known as Gāndinī, with Śvaphalka, the father of Akrūra. This was done by the King of Kāśī on the advice of an astrologer, and actually it so happened that after the marriage of the King’s daughter with Śvaphalka there was sufficient rainfall in the province.
Purport
Śvaphalka was Akrūra’s father, and the citizens felt that the son must have the same power as the father. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that because of Akrūra’s relationship with his maternal grandfather, the King of Kāśī, in a time of difficulty Akrūra went to that city.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Then Indra (deva) did not give rain in Kasi, the king gave his daughter to Akrura’s father in marriage. Then rain came. Akrura went to Kasi because it was the city of his maternal grandfather.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Two verses describe what people said. The king of Kāsī gave his excellent daughter along with ornaments and other goods to Akrūra’s father, Śvaphalka. The king brought Śvaphalka to Kāsī to marry his daughter. That daughter was famous for coming out the womb after a long time on the condition that she could perform a daily donation of a cow. Akrūra went to Kāsī since it was the home of his maternal grandfather.