Verse 9

¹Saryati, son of Manu, was a king deeply versed in Brahman. It was he who spoke out the rite of the second day at the long session of the Angirases. ²He had a daughter named Sukanya, whose eyes were lotuses. Having gone into the forest with her, he came to the hermitage of Cyavana. ³She, with her friends about her, was looking among the trees of the forest, and in the hole of an anthill she saw two points of light, like fireflies. ⁴Driven to it by fate, the girl pierced those two lights with a thorn, meaning no harm and knowing nothing of it; and blood ran out of the hole. ⁵That very moment the soldiers were stopped, and could pass neither dung nor water. The royal sage, seeing it, said to his men in astonishment:

⁶Surely some harm has been done by you to Bhrgu's descendant? It is plain that some one of us has defiled his hermitage. ⁷Sukanya, afraid, said to her father: Something was done by me. Not knowing what they were, I pierced two lights with a thorn. ⁸Hearing that from his daughter, Saryati was seized with alarm, and slowly and carefully he set about pleasing the sage who lay hidden inside the anthill. ⁹Understanding what the sage had in mind, he gave him his daughter. Released from his difficulty, he took his leave of him and went back to his city with a settled mind.