Verse Text
ratyā tu bhāva evātra na tu premābhidhīyate |
mama bhaktiḥ pravṛtteti vakṣyate sa yad agrataḥ ||10||
Translation
The word rati in the Bhāgavatam verse indicates bhāva, not prema, because, two verses later, the appearance of prema is indicated with the words “My bhakti (prema) then appeared.”
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
In verse 1.5.28 of the Bhāgavatam (quoted in the next verse of the text), Nārada says bhaktiḥ pravṛttātma rajas-tamopahā. The word bhakti indicates prema. Thus in the context, rati, in this verse, means bhāva, since it is the preliminary state, and bhakti means prema, since it is the superior state. Thus, the difference between bhāva and prema, as stated in the definition of bhāva, is illustrated: bhāva is like a ray of the sun of prema.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
This ecstatic love is prior to the pure love of Kṛṣṇa, because in the next verse Nārada confirms that by the gradual process of hearing from the great sages he developed love of Godhead.