Sacred Concord

Mbh 13.14.14a

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

"'"'The illustrious Deity said, "Be thou free from every misery and pain, and be thou above decrepitude and death. Be thou possessed of fame, be thou endued with great energy, and let spiritual knowledge be thine. Thou shalt, through my grace, be always sought for by the Rishis. Be thy behaviour good and righteous, be every desirable attribute thine, be thou possessed of universal knowledge, and be thou of agreeable appearance. Let undecaying youth be thine, and let thy energy be like that of fire. Wherever, again, thou mayst desire the presence of the ocean of milk that is so agreeable to thee, there shall that ocean appear before thee (ready for being utilised by thee and thy friends for purposes of thy food). Do thou, with thy friends, always obtain food prepared with milk, with the celestial nectar besides being mixed with it.[67] After the expiration of a Kalpa thou shalt then obtain my companionship. Thy family and race and kinsmen shall be exhaustless. O foremost of regenerate ones, thy devotion to me shalt be eternal. And, O best of Brahmanas, I shall always accord my presence to thy asylum. Live, O son, whithersoever thou likest, and let no anxiety be thine. Thought of by thee, I shall, O learned Brahmana, grant thee a sight of myself again."--Having said these words, and granted me these boons, the illustrious Isana, endued with the effulgence of millions of Suns, disappeared there and then. It was even thus, O Krishna, that I beheld, with the aid of austere penances, that God of gods. I also obtained all that was said by the great Deity endued with supreme intelligence. Behold, O Krishna, before thy eyes, these Siddhas residing here and these Rishis and Vidyadharas and Yakshas and Gandharvas and Apsaras. Behold these trees and creepers and plants yielding all sorts of flowers and fruits. Behold them bearing the flowers of every season, with beautiful leaves, and shedding a sweet fragrance all around.
Mbh 13.14.14a · Mahabharata · ANUSASANA PARVA

Themes in this passage

FriendshipNatureChildrenThe DivineWisdomAnxietyDeathDesire

Friendship in other traditions

The same theme, as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hellenism address it.

Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends: have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men.
Dhp 6.78 · Dhammapada · The Wise Man (Pandita)
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 · Bible · Proverbs
And no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend
Quran 70:10 · Quran
With that, the chiefs beneath his roof he led, And placed in seats with purple carpets spread. Then thus—“Patroclus, crown a larger bowl, Mix purer wine, and open every soul. Of all the warriors yonder host can send, Thy friend most honours these, and these thy friend.”
Iliad 9.16 · Iliad · 9

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