Text 32] The Advent of Lord Krṣṇa: Introduction
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aśvānām ayutaṁ sārdhaṁ rathānāṁ ca tri-ṣaṭ-śatam
dāsīnāṁ sukumārīṇāṁ dve śate samalaṅkṛte duhitre devakaḥ prādād yāne duhitr-vatsalaḥ
catuḥ-śatam—four hundred; pāribarham—dowry; gajānām—of elephants; hema-mālinām—decorated with garlands of gold; aśvānām—of horses; ayutam—ten thousand; sārdham—along with; rathānām—of chariots; ca—and; tri-ṣaṭ-śatam—three times six hundred (eighteen hundred); dāsīnām—of maidservants; su-kumārīṇām—very young and beautiful unmarried girls; dve—two; śate—hundred; samalaṅkṛte—fully decorated with ornaments; duhitre—unto his daughter; devakaḥ—King Devaka; prādāt—gave as a gift; yāne—while going away; duhitr-vatsalaḥ—who was very fond of his daughter Devakī.
TRANSLATION
Devakī's father, King Devaka, was very much affectionate to his daughter. Therefore, while she and her husband were leaving home, he gave her a dowry of four hundred elephants nicely decorated with golden garlands. He also gave ten thousand horses, eighteen hundred chariots, and two hundred very beautiful young maidservants, fully decorated with ornaments.
PURPORT
The system of giving a dowry to one's daughter has existed in Vedic civilization for a very long time. Even today, following the same system, a father who has money will give his daughter an opulent dowry. A daughter would never inherit the property of her father, and therefore an affectionate father, during the marriage of his daughter, would give her as much as possible. A dowry, therefore, is never illegal according to the Vedic system. Here, of course, the gift offered as a dowry by Devaka to Devakī was not ordinary. Because Devaka was a king, he gave a dowry