📿 Shloka Collection

Asatyam Apratishtham Te

Gita 16.8 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 — Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् ।
अपरस्परसम्भूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ॥
Asatyam apratishtham te jagad ahur anishvaram
Aparasparasambhutam kim anyat kamahaitukam
असत्यम्
unreal, false
अप्रतिष्ठम्
without any foundation
ते
they (those of demonic nature)
जगत्
the world
आहुः
say, declare
अनीश्वरम्
without God, without a controller
अपरस्परसम्भूतम्
arisen without any order or cause
किम् अन्यत्
what else (nothing else)
कामहैतुकम्
caused only by desire, by lust

Krishna now reveals the philosophy that drives the demonic mind. These people declare: the world is unreal, it has no moral foundation, there is no God who created or governs it. Everything arose randomly, without purpose or order. And if there is any cause at all, it is simply desire — physical attraction between beings, nothing more.

This worldview strips the universe of meaning. If there is no moral order and no higher reality, then nothing matters beyond personal pleasure. A river without banks floods everything in its path. Similarly, a life without ethical boundaries causes destruction in every direction.

The danger of this philosophy is practical, not theoretical. When someone truly believes that no moral law exists and no justice governs outcomes, that person becomes capable of anything. Every cruelty becomes permissible. Every exploitation becomes justified. This is the soil from which the worst human behavior grows.

This shloka presents the demonic philosophy in compressed form. Even in ancient India, there were schools of thought that rejected the existence of God and a moral order. Krishna is not debating philosophy here — he is pointing out the real-world consequences of this way of thinking.

The word aparasparasambhutam — 'arisen without any order' — strikes at the very root of ethics. If creation has no order, morality has no ground to stand on.

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