23.55
sakhya-vatsalya-rati paya ’anuraga’-sima
subaladyera ’bhava’ paryanta premera mahima
SYNONYMS
sakhya—in friendship; vatsalya—in paternal affection; rati—affection; paya—obtains; anuraga-sima—up to the limit of subordinate spontaneous love; subala-adyera—of friends like Subala and others; bhava—ecstatic love; paryanta—up to; premera mahima—the glory of the love of Godhead "After the mellow of servitorship, there are the mellows of friendship and paternal love, which increase to subordinate spontaneous love.
The greatness of the love found in friends like Subala extends to the standard of ecstatic love of Godhead.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that the mellow of neutrality increases to simple love of Godhead.
In the mellow of servitorship, love of Godhead increases beyond that to affection, counter-love (anger based on love), love and attachment.
Similarly, the mellow of friendship increases to affection, counter-love, love, attachment and subattachment.
It is the same with the mellow of paternal affection.
The special feature of the mellow of friendship exhibited by personalities like Subala is that it increases from fraternal affection to counter-love, to spontaneous attachment, to subordinate attachment, and finally to the ecstasy where all the ecstatic symptoms continuously exist.