Verse 17

¹⁰Bhagavan said: Princess, you were wanted by kings whose splendour was that of the guardians of the worlds, men of great weight and great fortune, strong in beauty and openness and might. ¹¹You passed over those suitors who had come, the Cedi and the rest, mad with love, and though you were given away by your brother and your own father, why did you choose us, who are not their equals? ¹²Fine-browed one, we were afraid of the kings and went to the sea for shelter. We had made enemies of the strong, and for the most part we had let go of a king's seat. ¹³Fine-browed one, women who set themselves on the track of men whose road is not clear, men who have taken a path outside the world, mostly come to grief.

¹⁴We have nothing, and we are always dear to people who have nothing. That is why, slender one, the rich do not as a rule turn to me. ¹⁵Marriage and friendship are between two whose wealth, birth, power, looks and standing are equal to each other, and never between the higher and the lower. ¹⁶Vaidarbhi, you did not know this, and you looked no further than the moment, and so you chose us, who have no good qualities, and who are praised to no purpose by beggars. ¹⁷Now then, turn to a bull among kshatriyas who is your match; by him you will get in this world and the next what you truly hope for.