Shloka 4
Adhyāya 174: Karma as an inescapable companion (कर्मानुगमन-उपदेश)
उसी समय दिव्य-धेनु दक्षकन्या सुरभिदेवी वहाँ आकर आकाशगमें ठीक चिताके ऊपर खड़ी हो गयीं ।।
tadā divyā dhenur dakṣakanyā surabhīdevī tatra āgatya ākāśe samyak citāyā upari tiṣṭhati sma | tasyā vaktrāc cyutaḥ phenaḥ kṣīramiśras tadānagha | so ’patad vai tataḥ tasyāṃ citāyāṃ rājadharmaṇaḥ, anagha |
उसी समय दिव्य धेनु, दक्षकन्या सुरभि देवी वहाँ आकर आकाश में ठीक चिता के ऊपर स्थित हो गयीं। अनघ! उनके मुख से जो दूध-मिश्रित फेन झरकर गिरा, वह राजधर्म-निष्ठ उस नरेश की चिता पर पड़ा।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Rājadharma—righteous rule grounded in duty and protection of subjects—has a sanctifying power recognized beyond human society; the divine tribute symbolizes that ethical kingship aligns with cosmic order and is worthy of reverence.
As a king associated with rājadharma lies on the funeral pyre, the celestial cow Surabhī appears in the sky above it, and milk-mixed foam from her mouth falls onto the pyre, functioning like a divine offering or consecration.