Bhagavata is best described in its own words: rasa. It means "nectar." Nectar here denotes "a kind of joy" which one derives by coming into contact with God in and through his divine sports.
If a piece of burning charcoal be placed on a man's head, see how he struggles to throw it off. Similar will be the struggle for freedom of those who really understand that they are slaves of nature.
-Swami Vivekananda