Text 16
tān nirīkṣya varārohā
sarūpān sūrya-varcasaḥ
ajānatī patiṁ sādhvī
aśvinau śaraṇaṁ yayau
tān — unto them; nirīkṣya — after observing; vara-ārohā — that beautiful Sukanyā; sa-rūpān — all of them equally beautiful; sūrya-varcasaḥ — with a bodily effulgence like the effulgence of the sun; ajānatī — not knowing; patim — her husband; sādhvī — that chaste woman; aśvinau — unto the Aśvinī-kumāras; śaraṇam — shelter; yayau — took.
The chaste and very beautiful Sukanyā could not distinguish her husband from the two Aśvinī-kumāras, for they were equally beautiful. Not understanding who her real husband was, she took shelter of the Aśvinī-kumāras.
Sukanyā could have selected any one of them as her husband, for one could not distinguish among them, but because she was chaste, she took shelter of the Aśvinī-kumāras so that they could inform her who her actual husband was. A chaste woman will never accept any man other than her husband, even if there be someone equally as handsome and qualified.