216 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 15

TEXTS 5-6

Ta aead Barrtasarag fs: |
at fret aeat mRraaRAaTa UY II
Cad: SMA CAAT ARTAATT |
AES AAT AH HAM: HEH TTT 1 & UI

tasya satyavatim kanyam
rciko ’yacata dvijah
varam visadrsam matva

gadhir bhargavam abravit

ekatah Syama-karnénam
hayanam candra-varcasim

sahasram diyatam sulkam
kanyayah kusika vayam

tasya—of Gadhi; satyavatim—Satyavati; kanyam—the daughter;
rcikah—the great sage Rcika; aydcata—requested; dvijah—the
brahmana; varam—as her husband; visadrsam—not equal or fit;
matvé—thinking like that; gadhih—King Gadhi; bhargavam—unto
Rcika; abravit—replied; ekatah—by one; syama-karnanaém—whose ear
is black; hayénaém—horses; candra-varcasiém—as brilliant as the
moonshine; sahasram—one thousand; diyatam—please deliver;
Sulkam—as a dowry; kanyaéyah—to my daughter; kusikadh—in the
family of Kuga; vayam—we (are).

TRANSLATION

King Gadhi had a daughter named Satyavati, whom a brahmana
sage named Rcika requested from the King to be his wife. King
Gadhi, however, regarded Rcika as an unfit husband for his
daughter, and therefore he told the brahmana, ‘‘My dear sir, |
belong to the dynasty of Kusa. Because we are aristocratic
ksatriyas, 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.”
