Shloka 23

Akṛtavraṇa’s Account Begins: Gādhi–Satyavatī–Ṛcīka and the Bhārgava Lineage Prelude

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

एकतःon one side / on the one hand

श्यामकर्णानाम्of the black-eared (horses)

पाण्डुराणाम्of the pale/whitish (horses)

तरस्विनाम्of the swift/strong (horses)

सहस्रशतम्a hundred thousand

वाजिनाम्of horses

शुल्कम्bride-price / fee

इतिthus (quotative)

विद्धिknow (you) / understand

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

अकृतव्रण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Akṛtavraṇa

dvijottama (a Brahmin addressee)

vājin (horses)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

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.