Shloka 64
युधिछिर उवाच सार्थ: प्रवसतो मित्र भार्या मित्र गृहे सतः । आतुरस्य भिषड्मित्र दानं मित्र मरिष्यत:,युधिष्ठिर बोले--सहयात्रियोंका समुदाय अथवा साथमें यात्रा करनेवाला साथी ही प्रवासीका मित्र है, पत्नी गृहवासीका मित्र है, वैद्य रोगीका मित्र है और दान मुमूर्षु (अर्थात् मरनेवाले) मनुष्यका मित्र है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | sārthaḥ pravasato mitraṁ bhāryā mitraṁ gṛhe sataḥ | āturasya bhiṣag mitraṁ dānaṁ mitraṁ mariṣyataḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: Para quem viaja para longe, a caravana e os companheiros de jornada são seus amigos; para quem permanece em casa, a esposa é a amiga; para o enfermo, o médico é o amigo; e para o homem que se aproxima da morte, o verdadeiro amigo é a caridade — a dádiva meritória que o ampara além desta vida.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Friendship is defined by practical support suited to one’s condition: companionship for the traveler, partnership for the householder, healing for the sick, and—at life’s end—merit through charity. The verse frames ‘mitra’ as that which sustains a person in their immediate need and in their ultimate transition.
In the Vana Parva’s didactic context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a moral observation about who (or what) truly serves as a ‘friend’ in different life-situations, emphasizing social interdependence and the special salvific value of dāna when death approaches.