Canto 9: LiberationChapter 15: Paraśurāma, the Lord's Warrior Incarnation

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.15.5-6

tasya satyavatīḿ kanyām

ṛcīko 'yācata dvijaḥ

varaḿ visadṛśaḿ matvā

gādhir bhārgavam abravīt

ekataḥ śyāma-karṇānāḿ

hayānāḿ candra-varcasām

sahasraḿ dīyatāḿ śulkaḿ

kanyāyāḥ kuśikā vayam

SYNONYMS

tasya — of Gādhi; satyavatīmSatyavatī; kanyām — the daughter; ṛcīkaḥ — the great sage Ṛcīka; ayācata — requested; dvijaḥ — the brāhmaṇa; varamas 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-varcasāmas brilliant as the moonshine; sahasram — one thousand; dīyatām — please deliver; śulkamas a dowry; kanyāyāḥto my daughter; kuśikāḥin 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."

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.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness