Text 16
svabhāva-tantro hi janaḥ
svabhāvam anuvartate
svabhāva-stham idaṁ sarvaṁ
sa-devāsura-mānuṣam
svabhāva — of his conditioned nature; tantraḥ — under the control; hi — indeed; janaḥ — a person; svabhāvam — his nature; anuvartate — he follows; svabhāva-stham — based on conditioned propensities; idam — this world; sarvam — entire; sa — together with; deva — the demigods; asura — the demons; mānuṣam — and humankind.
Every individual is under the control of his own conditioned nature, and thus he must follow that nature. This entire universe, with all its demigods, demons and human beings, is based on the conditioned nature of the living entities.
Lord Kṛṣṇa here elaborates upon the argument given in the previous verse. Since everything depends on svabhāva, or one’s conditioned nature, why bother worshiping God or the demigods? This argument would be sublime if svabhāva, or conditioned nature, were all-powerful. But unfortunately it is not. There is a supreme controller and we must worship Him, as Lord Kṛṣṇa will emphatically reveal in this chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. For now, however, He is content to tease His relatives.