In Hindu mythology, the concept of "Karuṇā" or compassionate action is deeply embedded and is often illustrated through stories, characters, and teachings.
The narrative commences with the sage Valmiki observing a tragic incident involving a pair of krauncha birds (Sarus cranes), setting the emotional tone for the epic.
This moment, steeped in sorrow and compassion, not only initiates the composition of the epic but also symbolically prefigures the central narrative of love, loss, and separation experienced by the protagonists, Rama and Sita, embodying the essence of "Karuṇā Rasa.
The verse maitrī-karuṇā-muditopekṣaṇāṃ sukha-duḥkha-puṇyāpuṇya-viṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaś citta-prasādanam advocates for the cultivation of friendliness (Maitri), compassion (Karuna), joy (Mudita), and equanimity (Upeksha) in response to life's dualities: happiness (Sukha) and suffering (Duhkha), as well as moral virtue (Punya) and vice (Apunya).
This practice, according to Patanjali, is instrumental in achieving a state of mental tranquility (Chittaprasadanam), underscoring the psychological and ethical dimensions integral to yoga's philosophical framework.
In Theravāda Buddhism, karuṇā is one of the four "divine abodes" (brahmavihāra), along with loving kindness (Pāli: mettā), sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha).
[11]Such a practice purifies one's mind, avoids evil-induced consequences, leads to happiness in one's present life, and, if there is a future karmic rebirth, it will be in a heavenly realm.
The "near enemy" (quality which superficially resembles karuṇā but is in fact more subtly in opposition to it), is (sentimental) pity: here too one wants to remove suffering, but for a partly selfish (attached) reason hence not the pure motivation.
[16]Throughout the Mahāyāna world, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit; Chinese: Guan Yin; Japanese: Kannon; Tibetan: Chenrezig) is a bodhisattva who embodies karuṇā.
In the Intermediate section of the Stages of Meditation by Kamalaśīla, he writes: Moved by compassion[karunā], Bodhisattvas take the vow to liberate all sentient beings.
For instance, karuṇā is one of the four reflections of universal friendship—along with amity (Sanskrit: maitri), appreciation (pramoda) and equanimity (madhyastha)—used to stop (samvara) the influx of karma.