Shloka 8
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 101: Bhogavatī-varṇana, Nāga-vaṃśa-kathana, and Sumukha-vivāha-prastāva
पूर्वां दिशं धारयते सुरूपा नाम सौरभी । दक्षिणां हंसिका नाम धारयत्यपरां दिशम्,सुरूपा नामवाली धेनु पूर्वदिशाको धारण करती है तथा उससे भिन्न दक्षिणदिशाका हंसिका नामवाली धेनु धारण-पोषण करती है
pūrvāṁ diśaṁ dhārayate surūpā nāma saurabhī | dakṣiṇāṁ haṁsikā nāma dhārayaty aparāṁ diśam ||
โคแห่งสายสุรภีชื่อ ‘สุรูปา’ ค้ำจุนทิศตะวันออก ส่วนโคอีกตัวหนึ่งชื่อ ‘หังสิกา’ ค้ำจุนและบำรุงทิศทักษิณ
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic vision of the cosmos: stability arises when designated beings uphold their allotted functions. The directions are not merely abstract space but parts of an ordered world sustained through appointed supports, implying that duty (dharma) maintains harmony.
Nārada is describing a cosmological arrangement in which specific divine cows are said to ‘bear’ or sustain particular quarters—Surūpā (of the Saurabhī line) the East, and Haṁsikā the South—within a larger account that enumerates supports of the world and its order.