MITRALABHA-13-GAINING OF FRIENDS

 SUBHASHITHANI:520

मृद्-घटवत् सुख-भेद्यो दुःसन्धानश् च दुर्जनो भवति ।
सुजनस् तु कनक-घटवद् दुर्भेद्यश् चाशु सन्धेयः ॥ ९३ ॥
mṛd-ghaṭavat sukha-bhedyo duḥsandhānaś ca durjano bhavati |
sujanas tu kanaka-ghaṭavad durbhedyaś cāśu sandheyaḥ || 1.93 ||
Friendship with a wicked man is like an earthen pot; It is easily broken into pieces and difficult to be reunited. But friendship with a virtuous man is like a pot of gold, which is difficult to break and can be easily repaired.

द्रवत्वात् सर्व-लोहानां निमित्ताद् मृग-पक्षिणाम् ।
भयाल् लोभाच् च मूर्खाणां सङ्गतः दर्शनात् सताम् ॥ ९४ ॥
dravatvāt sarva-lohānāṃ nimittād mṛga-pakṣiṇām |
bhayāl lobhāc ca mūrkhāṇāṃ saṅgataḥ darśanāt satām || 1.94 ||
Metals are united by their fluidity, animals and birds due to some specific cause, fools due to fear or greed, good men by mere sight.

नारिकेल-समाकारा दृश्यन्ते हि सुहृज्जनाः ।
अन्ये बदरिकाकारा बहिर् एव मनोहराः ॥ ९५ ॥
nārikela-samākārā dṛśyante hi suhṛjjanāḥ |
anye badarikākārā bahir eva manoharāḥ || 1.95 ||
Good men are like coconuts, hard from outside but tender with in and are rarely seen; while evil men are like berries, sweet from outside but hard inside.

स्नेह-च्छेदेऽपि साधूनां गुणा नायान्ति विक्रियाम् ।
भङ्गेऽपि हि मृणालानाम् अनुबध्नन्ति तन्तवः ॥ ९६ ॥
sneha-cchede'pi sādhūnāṃ guṇā nāyānti vikriyām |
bhaṅge'pi hi mṛṇālānām anubadhnanti tantavaḥ || 1.96 ||
Even when friendship be at breaking point, the nature of good men suffers no change; even when lotus stalks are broken, the fibers remain sticking to them.

शुचित्वम् त्यागिता शौर्यं सामान्यं सुख-दुःखयोः ।
दाक्षिण्यं चानुरक्तिश् च सत्यता च सुहृद्-गुणाः ॥ ९७ ॥
śucitvam tyāgitā śauryaṃ sāmānyaṃ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ |
dākṣiṇyaṃ cānuraktiś ca satyatā ca suhṛd-guṇāḥ || 1.97 ||
The qualities of a true friend are: Purity, generosity, chivalry, being composed in happiness and distress, politeness, affection and truthfulness.
(#The core message is not that we have to make people of such qualities our friends, but that we need to make such qualities our own, for then we will naturally attract virtuous people to become our friends)

घर्मार्तं न तथा सुशीतल-जलैः स्नानं न मुक्तावली
न श्रीखण्ड-विलेपनम् सुखयति प्रत्यङ्गम् अप्य् अर्पितम् ।
प्रीत्यै सज्जन-भाषितं प्रभवति प्रायो यथा चेतसः
सद्-युक्त्या च परिष्कृतं सुकृतिनाम् आकृष्टि-मन्त्रोपमम् ॥ ९८ ॥
gharmārtaṃ na tathā suśītala-jalaiḥ snānaṃ na muktāvalī
 na śrīkhaṇḍa-vilepanam sukhayati pratyaṅgam apy arpitam |
prītyai sajjana-bhāṣitaṃ prabhavati prāyo yathā cetasaḥ
 sad-yuktyā ca pariṣkṛtaṃ sukṛtinām ākṛṣṭi-mantropamam || 1.98 ||
A man suffering from intense heat is not delighted by cold water bath, not by a pearl necklace, not even by applying sandal paste all over the limbs, so much, as the words of the good, uttered with affection, offered with wise arguments, comparable to the charm of attraction, have power over the mind of the virtuous.

रहस्य-भेदो याच्ञा च नैष्ठुर्यं चल-चित्तया ।
क्रोधो निःसत्यता द्यूतम् एतन् मित्रस्य दूषणम् ॥ ९९ ॥
rahasya-bhedo yācñā ca naiṣṭhuryaṃ cala-cittayā |
krodho niḥsatyatā dyūtam etan mitrasya dūṣaṇam || 1.99 ||
Divulging a secret, begging, hard-heartedness, fickleness of mind, anger, faithlessness, gambling- these are the faults in a friend.

 पटुत्वं सत्यवादित्वं कथा-योगेन बुद्ध्यते ।
अस्तब्धत्वम् अचापल्यं प्रत्यक्षेनावगम्यते ॥ १०० ॥
paṭutvaṃ satyavāditvaṃ kathā-yogena buddhyate |
astabdhatvam acāpalyaṃ pratyakṣenāvagamyate || 1.100 ||
Proficiency and truthfulness of a person can be understood by conversation with him whereas absence of greediness as well as freedom from unsteadiness in his nature can be learnt by direct experience.

SRI KRISHNAYA THUBHYAM NAMAH