Text 27
ātmajām asitāpāṅgīṁ
vayaḥ-śīla-guṇānvitām
mṛgayantīṁ patiṁ dāsyaty
anurūpāya te prabho
ātma-jām — his own daughter; asita — black; apāṅgīm — eyes; vayaḥ — grown-up age; śīla — with character; guṇa — with good qualities; anvitām — endowed; mṛgayantīm — searching for; patim — a husband; dāsyati — he will give; anurūpāya — who are suitable; te — unto you; prabho — My dear sir.
He has a grown-up daughter whose eyes are black. She is ready for marriage, and she has good character and all good qualities. She is also searching for a good husband. My dear sir, her parents will come to see you, who are exactly suitable for her, just to deliver their daughter as your wife.
The selection of a good husband for a good girl was always entrusted to the parents. Here it is clearly stated that Manu and his wife were coming to see Kardama Muni to offer their daughter because the daughter was well qualified and the parents were searching out a similarly qualified man. This is the duty of parents. Girls are never thrown into the public street to search out their husband, for when girls are grown up and are searching after a boy, they forget to consider whether the boy they select is actually suitable for them. Out of the urge of sex desire, a girl may accept anyone, but if the husband is chosen by the parents, they can consider who is to be selected and who is not. According to the Vedic system, therefore, the girl is given over to a suitable boy by the parents; she is never allowed to select her own husband independently.