विघ्नाकुलत्वेऽपि मनोरतिपरता । …
यस्य कृच्छ्रगतस्यापि केशवे रमते मनः ।
न विच्युता च भक्तिर्वै स वै भागवतो नरः ॥
आपद्गतस्य यस्येह भकिरव्यभिचारिणी ।
नान्यत्र रमते चित्तं स वै भागवतो नरः ॥
vighnākulatve’pi mano-rati-paratā | …
yasya kṛcchra-gatasyāpi keśave ramate manaḥ |
na vicyutā ca bhaktir vai sa vai bhāgavato naraḥ ||
āpad-gatasya yasyeha bhakir avyabhicāriṇī |
nānyatra ramate cittaṁ sa vai bhāgavato naraḥ ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.67–68)
“[A third degree of one-pointedness (ekāntitā) upon Śrī Bhagavān is described:] Being devoted with rati in the mind even while being disturbed by obstructions [is described in Skanda Purāṇa]: ‘A person whose mind rejoices in Keśava and whose bhakti does not digress even when one is beset with hardship is verily a Bhāgavata. A person beset with adversity here [in this world] whose bhakti is unwavering and whose mind does not rejoice elsewhere [i.e., apart from in Śrī Bhagavān] is verily a Bhāgavata.”
Commentary
ratir bhāvaḥ, sa ca āgame ‘premṇas tu prathamāvasthā bhāva ity abhidhīyate’ iti tatparatayā manorama iti ratir uktā | bhaktiḥ śravaṇādi-lakṣaṇā | bhāgavatottamā iti vā pāṭhaḥ | evam agre’pi | bhaktir atra ratiḥ, anyatra keśava-vyatirikte cittaṁ na ramate tatra premākṛṣṭatvāt |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“[The word] Rati [in the phrase mano-rati-paratā] refers to bhāva, and that [i.e., bhāva] is [known to be] pleasing to the mind as per the intent of [the statement] ‘The initial state of prema is called bhāva’ in the Āgamas. In this way [the word] rati is stated [i.e., here the word rati refers both to the bhāva-bhakti defined BRS 1.3.1 and to the pleasure that remains in the mind of someone imbued with such bhāva-bhakti even while one is confronted with obstacles]. [The word] Bhakti [in the first aforecited verse] refers to that in the form of hearing and so forth. ‘Is the best of Bhāgavatas’ is a variant [of Bhāgavato naraḥ]. Such ahead as well [i.e., this variant is found in the second verse cited too]. [The word] Bhakti here [i.e., in the second aforecited verse] refers to rati. The mind does not rejoice elsewhere, meaning, other than in Keśava, because of being drawn [to him] by prema for him.”