Sukanya was a beautiful, young princess. By a trick of fate, it was arranged that she'd marry - although also highly qualified and a great sage- an elderly, choleric husband, and not even good looking, due to his severe auterities. Still, Sukanya wholeheartedly accepted the husband fate had given her. Foremost, she was able to adjust to her husband's temperament without becoming bitter or irritable herself, and placing herself as his maidservant, she took special care to please him. Prabhupada in the SB 9.3.11 purport glorifies her example by writing, "This is victory for a woman". Plus, as we shall see in the following excerpt, Sukanya's victory included more than one reward:(taken from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9, Chapter 3)
King Saryati, another son of Manu, was a ruler completely aware of Vedic knowledge. He had a beautiful lotus-eyed daughter named Sukunya, with whom he went to the forest to see the asrama of Cyavana Muni.
While that Sukanya, surrounded by her friends, was collecting various types of fruits from the trees in the forest, she saw within the hole of an earthworm (termite mound) two things glowing like luminaries. As if induced by providence, the girl ignorantly pierced those two glowworms with a thorn, and when they were pierced, blood began to ooze out of them.
Thereupon, all the soldiers of Saryati were immediately obstructed from passing urine and stool. Upon perceiving this, Saryati spoke to his associates in surprise, "How strange it is that one of us has attempted to do something wrong to Cyavana Muni, the son of Bhrgu. It certainly appears that someone among us has polluted this asrama."
Being very much afraid, the girl Sukanya said to her father, "I have done something wrong, for I have ignorantly pierced these two luminous substances with a thorn."
After hearing this statement by his daughter, King Saryati was very much afraid. In various ways, he tried to appease Cyavana Muni, for it was he who sat within the hole of the earthworm (his eyes having been pierced).
King Saryati, being very contemplative and thus understanding Cyavan Muni's purpose, gave his daughter in charity to the sage. Thus released from danger of being cursed, he took permission from Cyavana Muni and returned home.
Cyavana Muni was very old and irritable, always wanting to be in the dominant position, but since Sukunya had gotten him as her husband, she dealt with him carefully, according to his mood. Knowing his mind, she performed service to him without being bewildered. Although she was the beautiful young daughter of a king, she submitted herself to her husband and tried to please him in all respects. Thus she was a faithful and chaste wife.
Thereafter, some time having passed, the Aśvinī-kumara brothers, the heavenly physicians, happened to come to Cyavana Muni's asrama. After offering them respectful obeisances, Cyavana Muni, wanting to please his good wife, requested them to give him youthful life, for they were able to do so.
Cyavana Muni said, "Although you are ineligible to drink soma-rasa in sacrifices, I promise to give you a full pot of it. Kindly arrange beauty and youth for me, because they are attractive to young women."
The great physicians, the Aśvinī-kumāras, very gladly accepted Cyavana Muni's proposal. Thus they told the brahmana, "Just dive into this lake of successful life." [One who bathes in this lake has his desires fulfilled.]
After saying this, the Aśvinī-kumāras caught hold of Cyavana Muni, who was an old, diseased invalid with loose skin, white hair, and veins visible all over his body, and all three of them entered the lake.
Thereafter, three men with very beautiful bodily features emerged from the lake. They were nicely dressed and decorated with earrings and garlands of lotuses. All of them were of the same standard of beauty.
The chaste and very beautiful Sukanya could not distinguish her husband from the two Aśvinī-kumāras, for they were equally beautiful. She 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.
The Aśvinī-kumāras were very pleased to see Sukanya's chastity and faithfulness. Thus they showed her Cyavana Muni, her husband, and after taking permission from him, they returned to the heavenly planets in their plane.
Thereafter, King Saryati, desiring to perform a sacrifice, went to the residence of Cyavana Muni. There he saw by the side of his daughter a very beautiful young man, as bright as the sun.
After receiving obeisances from his daughter, the King, instead of offering blessings to her, appeared very displeased and spoke as follows: "O unchaste girl, what is this that you have desired to do? You have cheated the most respectable husband, who is honored by everyone, for I see that because he was old, diseased and therefore unattractive, you have left his company to accept as your husband this young man, who appears to be a beggar from the street.
"O my daughter, who were born in a respectable family, how have you degraded your consciousness in this way? How is it that you are shamelessly maintaining a paramour? You will thus degrade the dynasties of both your father and your husband to hellish life."
Sukanya however, being very proud of her chastity, smiled upon hearing the rebukes of her father. She smilingly told him, "My dear father, this young man by my side is your actual son-in-law, the great sage Cyavana, who was born in the family of Bhrgu."
Thus Sukanya explained how her husband had received the beautiful body of a young man. When the King heard this he was very surprised, and in great pleasure he embraced his beloved daughter.