Na Mam Dushkritino Mudhah

In 7.14, Krishna said that those who surrender cross Maya. Now He addresses the other side: who does not surrender? Four kinds of people — those engaged in harmful actions, those deep in delusion, those whose knowledge has been stripped away by Maya, and those who have adopted an asuri disposition.

This is not a condemnation. It is a description of states of mind. When a person's mind is occupied by these conditions — cruelty, confusion, stolen clarity, or defiant self-centeredness — the turn toward the divine simply does not happen. It is like trying to see your reflection in muddy water. The water has to settle first.

And this state is not permanent. The very next shloka will describe those who do surrender. The door is not sealed. It remains open for anyone whose inner condition shifts.

Shlokas 7.15 and 7.16 are a contrasting pair — first, those who do not surrender; then, those who do. The term 'asuram bhavam' does not refer to a caste or a species. It describes a mental state — one dominated by arrogance, greed, and cruelty.

The Bhagavata Purana also describes asuri bhava as a psychological condition. The Gita follows the same understanding here.