Shloka 3
Adhyāya 174: Karma as an inescapable companion (कर्मानुगमन-उपदेश)
तस्मिन् काले च सुरभिद्देवी दाक्षायणी शुभा | उपरिष्टात् ततस्तस्य सा बभूव पयस्विनी
tasmin kāle ca surabhir devī dākṣāyaṇī śubhā | upariṣṭāt tatas tasya sā babhūva payasvinī ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Pada saat itu, Dewi Surabhī yang mulia—Dākṣāyaṇī—tampak berada di atasnya; kemudian ia menjadi penuh dengan susu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the motif of divine auspiciousness manifesting as nourishment: Surabhi’s becoming “payasvinī” symbolizes grace that sustains life and supports dharmic stability through abundance rather than violence.
Bhīṣma narrates that at a particular moment the auspicious goddess Surabhi (called Dākṣāyaṇī) is positioned above “him/that” (as determined by the surrounding context) and then becomes richly milk-bearing, indicating a miraculous or providential increase of sustaining milk.