Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 5
Lakṣmī’s Emergence, Dhanvantari, and the Advent of Mohinī-mūrti
ऐरावणादयस्त्वष्टौ दिग् गजा अभवंस्तत: । अभ्रमुप्रभृतयोऽष्टौ च करिण्यस्त्वभवन्नृप ॥ ५ ॥
airāvaṇādayas tv aṣṭau dig-gajā abhavaṁs tataḥ abhramu-prabhṛtayo ’ṣṭau ca kariṇyas tv abhavan nṛpa
Thereafter, O King, eight great elephants, which could go in any direction, were generated. They were headed by Airāvaṇa. Eight she-elephants, headed by Abhramu, were also generated.
The names of the eight elephants were Airāvaṇa, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Kumuda, Añjana, Puṣpadanta, Sārvabhauma and Supratīka.
FAQs
Diggajas are the eight great elephants associated with the eight directions, appearing here during the events of Samudra Manthana, headed by Airāvaṇa.
He is narrating the sequence of wondrous manifestations that arose from the Milk Ocean during the churning, showing how cosmic order and divine arrangements emerged step by step.
Even amid struggle and upheaval (like the churning), order and auspicious outcomes can manifest in due course—encouraging patience, steadiness, and faith in divine arrangement.