Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 118
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
पित्राहं यज्ञकाले हि नीतो ज्ञातिकुलं महत् । तत्र सा क्षरते देवी दिव्या गौ: सुरनन्दिनी
pitrāhaṃ yajñakāle hi nīto jñātikulaṃ mahat | tatra sā kṣarate devī divyā gauḥ suranandinī, tāta |
Vāsudeva said: “Dear one, during the time of my father’s sacrifice I was taken to a great household of our kinsmen. There, that divine cow—Surabhi, the delight of the gods—was yielding milk.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage reinforces the dharmic valuation of yajña (sacrificial duty) and the sanctity of the cow as a source of divine, life-sustaining nourishment; it frames prosperity and merit as connected with reverence for sacred beings and righteous household conduct.
Vāsudeva recalls being taken by his father during a sacrificial occasion to an eminent kinsman’s household, where a divine cow—Surabhi—was present and giving milk, setting the scene for a remembered incident involving sacred nourishment and its moral implications.