“Richika said, ’What dower, O king, shall I offer thee for the hand of thy daughter?  Tell me truly, without feeling any hesitation in the matter.  Gadhi said,—­’O descendant of Bhrigu, do thou give me a thousand horses fleet as the wind, and possessing the hue of moon-beams, and each having one ear black.’

“Bhishma said, ’Then that mighty son of Chyavana who was the foremost of Bhrigu’s race, besought the deity Varuna, the son of Aditi, who was the lord of all the waters.—­O best of gods, I pray to thee to give me a thousand horses, all endued with the speed of the wind and with complexion as effulgent as the moon’s, but each having one ear black.  The god Varuna, the son of Aditi, said to that excellent scion of Bhrigu’s race,—­Be it so.  Wheresoever thou shalt seek, the horses shalt arise (in thy presence).—­As soon as Richika thought of them, there arose from the waters of Ganga thousand high-mettled horses, as lustrous in complexion as the moon.  Not far from Kanyakubja, the sacred bank of Ganga is still famous among men as Aswatirtha in consequence of the appearance of those horses at that place.  Then Richika, that best of ascetics, pleased in mind, gave those thousand excellent horses unto Gadhi as the marriage-dower.  King Gadhi, filled with wonder and fearing to be cursed, gave his daughter, bedecked with jewels, unto that son of Bhrigu.  That foremost of regenerate Rishis accepted her hand in marriage according to the prescribed rites.  The princess too was well-pleased at finding herself the wife of that Brahmana.  That foremost of regenerate Rishis, O Bharata, was well pleased with her conduct and expressed a wish to grant her boon.  The princess, O excellent king, related this to her mother.  The mother addressed the daughter that stood before her with down-cast eyes, saving,—­It behoves thee, O my daughter, to secure a favour for me also from thy husband.  That sage of austere penances is capable of granting a boon to me, the boon, viz. of the birth of a son to me.—­Then, O king, returning quickly to her husband Richika, the princess related to him all that had been desired by her mother.  Richika said,—­By my favour, O blessed one, she will soon give birth to a son possessed of every virtue.  May thy request be fulfilled.  Of thee too shall be born a mighty and glorious son who, endued with virtue, shall perpetuate my race.  Truly do I say this unto thee!  When you two shall bathe in your season, she shall embrace a peepul tree, and thou, O excellent lady, shalt likewise embrace a fig tree, and by so doing shall ye attain the object of your desire.  O sweetly-smiling lady, both she and you shall have to partake of these two sacrificial offerings (charu)[8]rated with hymns, and then shall ye obtain sons (as desired).—­At this, Satyavati, delighted at heart, told her mother all that had been said by Richika as also of the two balls of charu.  Then the mother, addressing her daughter Satyavati, said:—­O daughter, as I am deserving of