kintv asmÄbhiḥ ká¹›taḥ pÅ«rvaá¹
samayaḥ sÄtvatará¹£abha
puá¹sÄá¹ vÄ«rya-parÄ«ká¹£Ärthaá¹
kanyÄ-vara-parÄ«psayÄ
kintu - but; asmÄbhiḥ - by us (her family); ká¹›taḥ - made; pÅ«rvam - previously; samayaḥ - a stipulation; sÄtvata-ṛṣabha - O chief of the SÄtvatas; puá¹sÄm - of the men (who came as suitors); vÄ«rya - the prowess; parÄ«ká¹£Ä - of testing; artham - for the purpose; kanyÄ - for my daughter; vara - the husband; parÄ«psayÄ - with the desire of finding.
But to ascertain the proper husband for my daughter, O chief of the SÄtvatas, we previously set a condition to test the prowess of her suitors.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ«, the King’s actual purpose in setting up the test was to obtain ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa as his son-in-law, since only He could subdue the bulls. Without such a test it would have been difficult for Nagnajit to refuse the many apparently qualified princes and kings who came to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
