अथ रात्र्यां व्यतीतायां प्रातरेवापरेऽहनि।
वन्दिनः पर्युपातिष्ठंस्तत्पार्थिवनिवेशनम्॥
सूताः परमसंस्कारा मङ्गलाश्चोत्तमश्रुताः।
गायकाः स्तुतिशीलाश्च निगदन्तः पृथक्पृथक्॥
atha rātryām vyatītāyām prātar evāpare ’hani
vandinaḥ paryupātiṣṭhaṁs tat pārthiva-niveśanam
sūtāḥ parama-saṁskārā maṅgalāś cottama-śrutāḥ
gāyakāḥ stuti-śīlāś ca nigadantaḥ pṛthak pṛthak
atha = when; rātryām = the night; vyatītāyām = had passed; prātaḥ eva = and it was early morning; apare = the next; ahani = day; vandinaḥ = vandīs; paryupātiṣṭhan = reached; tat pārthiva-niveśanam = the king’s residence; sūtāḥ = sūtas who glorified the king’s royal dynasty; parama-saṁskārāḥ = excellently decorated; maṅgalāḥ = reciters of auspicious hymns; ca = and; uttama-śrutāḥ = erudite; gāyakāḥ = singers; stuti-śīlāḥ ca = habituated to playing musical instruments; nigadantaḥ = while displaying their expertise; pṛthak pṛthak = respective.
When the night had passed and it was early in the morning the next day, excellently decorated vandīs, sūtas who glorified the king’s royal dynasty, reciters of auspicious hymns, and erudite singers habituated to playing musical instruments reached the king’s residence while displaying their respective expertise.1
1 Technical note: pṛthak pṛthak nigadantaḥ sva-svābhijñāṁ darśayantaḥ.
Parama-saṁskārāḥ indicates that the sūtas were excellent in Sanskrit grammar and so on. Uttama-śrutāḥ (“erudite”) indicates that the singers had learnt the Vedic science of musicology (gāndharva-śāstra).