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 ||
那罗陀说道：“苏罗毗族中有一头名为苏鲁帕（Surūpā）的神牛支撑东方；另有一头名为汉西迦（Haṁsikā）的神牛支撑南方。”
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.