When a man who has long been absent returns home safe from afar, relatives, friends and companions welcome him with joy.

Cirappavāsiṃ purisaṃ dūrato sotthimāgataṃ — a man long absent who returns safe from afar: the image is moving in its humanity. The traveler returning after a long absence is received with genuine joy by those who love him.

Ñātimittā suhajjā ca abhinandanti āgataṃ — relatives, friends and companions welcome his arrival: ñāti (relatives), mitta (friends), suhajja (companions, literally “good-hearted ones”) — the entire social circle rejoices.

This image prepares the following verse (220) which establishes an analogy: just as relatives rejoice at the traveler’s return, so the fruits of merit receive the practitioner.

The human warmth of this image contrasts with previous verses about non-attachment. The Dhammapada does not reject human relationships nor the joy of reunion — it accepts them as part of human experience and uses them as metaphor for a deeper reality.