Sacred Concord

Mbh 5.30.2e

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

I hope, you are dwelling within your abodes blamelessly and carefully. I hope, you are comforting yourselves towards your fathers-in-law in a kindly, praise-worthy and considerate way. You must steadily adopt such a conduct for yourselves as will help you to win your husband’s favour! Those young ladies, O Sanjaya, who bear a relationship to us like that of your daughters-in-law, who have been brought from high families, who are possessed of merit and who are mothers of children,--thou must meet them all and tell them that Yudhishthira send his kindly greetings to them. Thou must, O Sanjaya, embrace the daughters of your house, and must ask them about their welfare on my behalf. Thou must tell them,--May your husbands be kindly and agreeable; may you be agreeable to your husbands; may you have ornaments and clothes and perfumery and cleanliness; may you be happy and have at your command the joys of life; may your looks be pretty and words pleasant. Thou must ask, O sire, the women of the house as to their welfare. Thou must also represent unto the maid-servants and man-servants there, may be of the Kurus, and also the many humpbacked and lame ones among them, that I am doing well, and thou must then ask them about their welfare. Thou must tell them,--I hope, Dhritarashtra’s son still vouchsafes the same kindly treatment to you. I hope, he gives you the comforts of life.--Thou must also represent unto those that are defective in limb, those that are imbecile, the dwarfs to whom Dhritarashtra gives food and raiment from motives of humanity, those that are blind, and all those that are aged, as also to the many that have the use only of their hands being destitute of legs, that I am doing well, and that I ask them regarding their welfare, addressing them in the following words,--Fear not, nor be dispirited on account of your unhappy lives so full of sufferings; no doubt, sins must have been committed by you in your former lives.
Mbh 5.30.2e · Mahabharata · UDYOGA PARVA

Themes in this passage

CompassionHopeChildrenMarriageSpeechDoubtFamilyPoverty

Compassion in other traditions

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

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2 Peter 1:7 · Bible · 2 Peter
Thus it was that when the Tao was lost, its attributes appeared; when its attributes were lost, benevolence appeared; when benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared; and when righteousness was lost, the proprieties appeared.
Tao Te Ching 38.5 · Tao Te Ching
And compassion from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout,
Quran 19:13 · Quran · Mary
The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their mind day and night always delights in compassion.
Dhp 21.300 · Dhammapada · Miscellaneous

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