Shloka 23

Devanagari script

एकत: श्यामकर्णानां पाण्डुराणां तरस्विनाम्‌ । सहसतं वाजिनां शुल्कमिति विद्धि द्विजोत्तम,उस समय राजा गाधिने कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले ब्रह्मर्षि ऋचीकसे कहा -- द्विजश्रेष्ठ! हमारे कुलमें पूर्वजोंने जो कुछ शुल्क लेनेका नियम चला रखा है, उसका पालन करना हमलोगोंके लिये भी उचित है। अतः आप यह जान लें कि इस कन्याके लिये एक सहसख्र वेगशाली अश्व शुल्करूपमें देने पड़ेंगे, जिनके शरीरका रंग तो सफेद और पीला मिला हुआ-सा और कान एक ओरसे काले रंगके हों

Transliteration

ekataḥ śyāmakarṇānāṁ pāṇḍurāṇāṁ tarasvinām | sahasataṁ vājināṁ śulkam iti viddhi dvijottama ||

Translation

Akṛtavraṇa said: “Know this, O best of Brahmins: the bride-price is a thousand swift horses—pale in color, with one ear dark.” In context, the king insists that ancestral custom regarding the śulka (bride-price) must be upheld, presenting tradition as an ethical obligation even when the demand is severe.

Word by Word

• एकतः: on one side / on the one hand
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकतस्

• श्यामकर्णानाम्: of the black-eared (horses)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्यामकर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पाण्डुराणाम्: of the pale/whitish (horses)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाण्डुर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तरस्विनाम्: of the swift/strong (horses)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरस्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सहस्रशतम्: a hundred thousand
• सहस्रशतम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्रशत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• वाजिनाम्: of horses
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शुल्कम्: bride-price / fee
• शुल्कम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुल्क
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• विद्धि: know (you) / understand
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of the twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विजोत्तम: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

अकृतव्रण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Akṛtavraṇa
• dvijottama (a Brahmin addressee)
• vājin (horses)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the force of kula-dharma (family/ancestral custom): the king frames adherence to inherited social rules—here, the śulka for marriage—as a binding ethical duty, even when the requirement is demanding.

What is happening in the narrative?

A king states the required bride-price for a maiden: one thousand swift horses of pale color with a dark ear on one side, addressing a Brahmin as “dvijottama” and presenting the demand as established ancestral practice.