आर्षे विवाहे गोद्वंद्वं यदुक्तं तन्न शस्यते । शुल्कमण्वपि कन्यायाः कन्या विक्रयपापकृत्
ārṣe vivāhe godvaṃdvaṃ yaduktaṃ tanna śasyate | śulkamaṇvapi kanyāyāḥ kanyā vikrayapāpakṛt
Dalam perkahwinan Ārṣa, ‘sepasang lembu’ yang disebut itu tidak wajar dianggap sebagai harga jual beli, maka tidak terpuji sebagai pertukaran dagang. Walau sekecil mana pun bayaran yang diambil untuk seorang anak dara, itu menjadi dosa menjual puteri sendiri.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembled listeners (context-dependent)
Scene: A Vedic marriage setting in Kāśī: a father offers his daughter with water-pot and sacred fire present; two cows stand nearby as voluntary gift, while a shadowy figure of ‘greed’ is turned away.
Marriage is a dharmic sacrament, not a transaction; taking even a small ‘price’ for a daughter is condemned as sinful.
The teaching occurs within Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī/Varanasi) as part of the city’s dharma-instruction for householders.
It regulates marriage conduct: the ‘pair of cows’ associated with Ārṣa vivāha should not be treated as a fee; no bride-price should be accepted.