Shloka 8
Nirmaryāda-saṃgrāma-varṇana — The Unbounded Clash and Bhīṣma’s Rallying Presence
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठ॑ ते जगदाहुरनी श्वरम् । अपरस्परसम्भूतं किमन्यत् कामहैतुकम्,वे आसुरी प्रकृतिवाले मनुष्य कहा करते हैं कि जगत् आश्रयरहित, सर्वथा असत्य और बिना ईश्वरके,+ अपने-आप केवल स्त्री-पुरुषके संयोगसे उत्पन्न है, अतएव केवल काम ही इसका कारण है। इसके सिवा और क्या है?
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram | aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ kim anyat kāma-haitukam ||
Those of demonic nature declare: “This world is unreal, without any stable foundation, and without a Lord. It arises of itself, merely from the union of woman and man; therefore desire alone is its cause. What else could there be?”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques a nihilistic/materialistic outlook that denies truth, moral grounding, and divine governance, reducing the origin and meaning of the world to mere desire. Ethically, it warns that such a view undermines responsibility and dharma by rejecting higher order and accountability.
Arjuna reports and characterizes the claims made by people of an “āsurī” (demoniac) disposition: they describe the world as baseless, unreal, and godless, and explain existence as arising only from lust/desire rather than from a righteous cosmic order.