युवतीनां यथा यूनि यूनां च युवतौ यथा ।
मनोऽभिरमते तद्वन्मनोऽभिरमतां त्वयि ॥
yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā |
mano’bhiramate tadvan mano’bhiramatāṁ tvayi ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.128.258; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.437; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.153; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217)
“As the minds of young ladies delight in a young man, and the minds of young men delight in a young lady, so may my mind delight in you.”
Commentary
Śrī Sanātanapāda presents this verse in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa as an example of a prayer that can be offered to Śrī Bhagavān after the completion of one’s arcana and japa. In the section in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu about the limb of bhakti known as entreating (vijñāpti) Śrī Bhagavān, Śrī Rūpapāda presents this verse as the example of the category of entreaty known as “that constituted of earnest prayer” (samprārthanātmikā). In Bhakti Sandarbha (217), Śrī Jīvapāda refers to this prayer as a means of resolving the obstacles posed by one’s bad inclinations (durvāsanās) and unwholesome actions (duṣkarma):
atra svābhāvika-karmaṇo’rpaṇe duṣkarmaṇo dvividhā gatiḥ—jñānecchūnām aviśeṣeṇa, bhaktīcchūnāṁ tu anena durvāsana-duḥkha-darśanena ca sa karuṇāmayaḥ karuṇāṁ karotv iti vā—‘yā prītir avivekānāṁ viṣayeṣv anapāyinī | tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān nāpasarpatu ||’ iti viṣṇu-purāṇokta-prakāreṇa, ‘yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā | mano’bhiramate tadvan mano’bhiramatāṁ tvayi ||’ iti pādmokta-prakāreṇa ca mama sukarmaṇi duṣkarmaṇi ca yad rāga-sāmānyaṁ tat sarvato-bhāvena bhagavad-viṣayam eva bhavatv iti samādheyam | kāmināṁ tu na sarvathaiva sarva-duṣkarmārpaṇam … |
“Here in regard to the offering of natural karma [i.e., the practice mentioned in SB 11.2.36 and elsewhere of offering to Śrī Bhagavān actions one is impelled to perform by one’s disposition (svabhāva)], the approach is twofold in the case of unwholesome action (duṣkarma): (1) it is to be resolved without distinction for those desirous of jñāna [i.e., for those whose aim is realization of unqualified (nirviśeṣa) Brahman, meaning, followers of the path of jñāna can offer their unwholesome actions (duṣkarma) to Bhagavān just as they offer wholesome ones without making any distinction between the two since their practice is based on non-identification of themselves as neither the agent nor beneficiary of such actions], whereas (2) for those desirous of bhakti [i.e., followers of the path of bhakti, it is to be resolved] with this [prayer], ‘As a result of seeing the suffering [I am undergoing] arising from [my] bad inclinations (durvāsanās), may he who is full compassion [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] bestow compassion [upon me],’ or [with this prayer], ‘May all the attachment (rāga) I have to wholesome action and unwholesome action verily in all respects become that the object of which is Bhagavān [i.e., may all the attachment I have to all else be transformed into attachment solely to Bhagavān],’ in accord with the manner described in Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.20.19), ‘As I continuously remember you [O Bhagavān], may everlasting affinity (prīti) [for you] which [is possessed of a characteristic like the affinity (prīti) which] the undiscerning have for objects of the senses, never slip away from my heart,’ and in accord with the manner described in Padma Purāṇa, ‘As the minds of young ladies delight in a young man, and the minds of young men delight in a young lady, so may my mind delight in you’ [i.e., in the case of those following the path of bhakti, unwholesome actions are not offered to Śrī Bhagavān; instead, acknowledgement of them to him is made by means of prayers offered to Śrī Bhagavān that are expressive of repentance, desire for compassion and forgiveness, desire to become free from the attachments and bad inclinations (durvāsanās) that beget such actions, and desire to have attachment and inclination solely related to Bhagavān]. For the desirous [i.e., for those following neither the path of jñāna nor the path of bhakti], however, there is no offering of all unwholesome actions verily in all cases.”