Chapter 16, Verse 8
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् | अपरस्परसम्भूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ||१६-८||
asatyamapratiṣṭhaṃ te jagadāhuranīśvaram . aparasparasambhūtaṃ kimanyatkāmahaitukam ||16-8||
Meaning
16.8 They say, "This universe is without truth, without (moral) basis, without a God, brought about by mutual union, with lust for its cause; what else?"
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now exposes the worldview underlying the demoniac life. It declares the cosmos asatya (without truth), apratishtha (without moral foundation), and anishvara (without a guiding divine intelligence) — a universe of blind chance where lust, kama, is the only engine and pleasure the only point. 'What else?' they scoff, dismissing any deeper meaning.
This is no caricature; it is a perennial philosophy that reappears in every age. When existence is stripped of truth, order, and the sacred, nothing remains to restrain appetite. Krishna's insight is psychological as much as theological: belief and behaviour are intertwined. A vision of life as meaningless does not free a person — it removes every reason for restraint and hands the reins entirely to desire. The denial of the sacred is the philosophical root from which cruelty later grows.
💡 Key Takeaway
What we believe about the universe shapes how we live in it — deny all meaning, and only appetite is left to steer.
Related Verses
दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च | अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम् ||१६-४||
dambho darpo.abhimānaśca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca . ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadamāsurīm ||16-4||
16.4 Hypocrisy, arrogance and self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance, belong to one who is born for a demoniacal state, O Partha (Arjuna).
द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च | दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे शृणु ||१६-६||
dvau bhūtasargau loke.asmindaiva āsura eva ca . daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṃ pārtha me śṛṇu ||16-6||
16.6 There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the demoniacal.
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः | न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||१६-७||
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ . na śaucaṃ nāpi cācāro na satyaṃ teṣu vidyate ||16-7||
16.7 The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right conduct nor truth is found in them.