SB 9.15.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तस्य सत्यवतीं कन्यामृचीकोऽयाचत द्विज: । वरं विसद‍ृशं मत्वा गाधिर्भार्गवमब्रवीत् ॥ ५ ॥ एकत: श्यामकर्णानां हयानां चन्द्रवर्चसाम् । सहस्रं दीयतां शुल्कं कन्याया: कुशिका वयम् ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

tasya satyavatīṁ kanyām ṛcīko ’yācata dvijaḥ varaṁ visadṛśaṁ matvā gādhir bhārgavam abravīt ekataḥ śyāma-karṇānāṁ hayānāṁ candra-varcasām sahasraṁ dīyatāṁ śulkaṁ kanyāyāḥ kuśikā vayam

Synonyms

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.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

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. Therefore, bring at least one thousand horses, each as brilliant as moonshine and each having one black ear, as a dowry." It will be explained in a later chapter that the son of Gadhi, Viśvāmitra, became a brahmarṣi. In order to tell about the avatāra Paraśurāma coming in the dynasty of the daughter, first the story of the sage Ṛcīka is told. We are kṣatriyas of the Kuśa dynasty, very elevated. The horses should have one black ear, either left or right.

Purport

The son of King Gādhi was Viśvāmitra, who was said to be a brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya combined. Viśvāmitra attained the status of a brahmarṣi, as explained later. From the marriage of Satyavatī with Ṛcīka Muni would come a son with the spirit of a kṣatriya. King Gādhi demanded that an uncommon request be fulfilled before the brāhmaṇa Ṛcīka could marry his daughter.