Shloka 4

नारदकथितं माधव्याः तपश्चर्या–ययातेः स्वर्गविचारः | Nārada on Mādhavī’s Asceticism and the Scrutiny of Yayāti in Heaven

Devanagari script

पुरा हि कान्यकुब्जे वै गाधे: सत्यवतीं सुताम्‌ । भार्यार्थेडवरयत्‌ कन्यामृचीकस्तेन भाषित:,'पूर्वकालकी बात है, कान्यकुब्जमें राजा गाधिकी कुमारी पुत्री सत्यवतीको अपनी पत्नी बनानेके लिये ऋचीक मुनिने राजासे उसे माँगा। तब राजाने ऋचीकसे कहा --

Transliteration

purā hi kānyakubje vai gādheḥ satyavatīṃ sutām | bhāryārthe ’varayat kanyām ṛcīkas tena bhāṣitaḥ |

Translation

قال نارادا: في سالف الزمان، في كانياكوبجا، سعى الحكيم رِتشيكا (Ṛcīka) إلى خطبة العذراء ساتيافاتي (Satyavatī)، ابنة الملك غادهي (Gādhi)، لتكون زوجًا له. فلما عرض رِتشيكا طلبه، أجابه الملك واضعًا شروطًا تمتحن الاستحقاق، فتجلّت بذلك المعضلة الأخلاقية بين مقتضيات السلطان والمرتبة الاجتماعية وقداسة الزواج.

Word by Word

पुराformerly, once

हिindeed, for

कान्यकुब्जेin Kanyakubja

वैindeed, surely

गाधेःof (king) Gādhi

सत्यवतीम्Satyavatī

सुताम्daughter

भार्यार्थेfor (the purpose of) a wife

अवरयत्chose, sought (in marriage)

कन्याम्the maiden

ऋचीकःṚcīka (sage)

तेनby him / with him

भाषितःspoken (to), addressed

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Kānyakubja

King Gādhi

Satyavatī

Sage Ṛcīka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse introduces a dharmic dilemma often seen in Itihāsa: marriage is sacred, yet worldly considerations (rank, conditions imposed by a king, and the testing of a suitor) can complicate it. It frames an ethical inquiry into what constitutes true worth—birth and power, or tapas and character.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada begins recounting an old episode: in Kānyakubja, the sage Ṛcīka asks King Gādhi for his daughter Satyavatī’s hand in marriage. The king responds, implying that conditions or a challenge will follow.