Shloka 10
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच सुरभीमसृजद् ब्रह्मा देवधेनुं पयोमुचम् । सा सृष्टा बहुधा जाता क्षरमाणा पयोडमृतम्
śrīmaheśvara uvāca surabhīm asṛjad brahmā devadhenūṃ payomucam | sā sṛṣṭā bahudhā jātā kṣaramāṇā payo 'mṛtam ||
Śrī Maheśvara said: “Beloved, Brahmā created Surabhī—the divine cow for the gods—one who pours forth milk like a rain-cloud. Once brought into being, she manifested in many forms, continually streaming milk that was like nectar.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents nourishment and plenty as divinely instituted for sustaining beings within dharma. Surabhī’s ‘nectar-like’ milk symbolizes sacred resources meant to be shared and used for protection, support, and righteous maintenance of life.
Maheśvara recounts that Brahmā created Surabhī, the gods’ divine cow, who pours milk like a rain-cloud. After her creation she appears in many forms, continuously flowing ambrosial milk—an origin-story for divine sustenance and abundance.