BhG 16.8

syntax

jagat (world) asatyam (unreal) apratiṣṭham (without foundation) anīśvaram (without a lord) aparaspara-sambhūtam (not generated one from the other),
kim anyat (what other?) kāma-haitukam iti (that has the cause in desire)
te [āsurāḥ] (these demoniac) āhuḥ (they spoke).

grammar

asatyam	–	a-satya 1n.1 n.; BV: yasmin satyaṁ nāsti tat – in which there is no truth, no reality (from: √as – to be, PPr sant – being, existing, true, the essence);
apratiṣṭham	–	a-pratiṣṭha 1n.1 n.; BV: yasya pratiṣṭhā nāsti tat – which has no founation, unstable (from: prati-√sthā – to stand firmly, pratiṣṭhā – base, foundation, position);
te	–	tat sn. 1n.3 m. – they;
jagat	–	jagat 1n.1 n. – world, moving, mankind (from: √gam – to go);
āhuḥ	–	√ah (to speak – inflected only in Perf., other forms from: √brū) Perf. P 1v.3 – they spoke, they declared;
anīśvaram	–	an-īśvara 1n.1 n.; BV: yasyeśvaro nāsti tat – without a lord (from: √xīś – to own, to reign, īśa / īśvara – ruler, lord);
aparaspara-saṁbhūtam	–	a-paras-para-saṁbhūta 1n.1 n.; TP: paras-parato asaṁbhūtam iti – not generated one by one, one from another (from: para – another, strange, paras-para – mutual, one by one; sam-√bhū – to come into being, PP saṁbhūta – produced, born);or DV / TP: aparaś ca paraś cety aparasparam, aparasparataḥ strī-puruṣa-mithunāt saṁbhūtam iti – born from the union of higher and lower, [or] from the union of man and woman;
kim	–	kim sn. 1n.1 n. – what?
anyat	–	anya sn. 1n.1 n. – other;
kāma-haitukam	–	kāma-haituka 1n.1 m.; BV: yasya hetuḥ kāmo ‘sti tat – whose cause is desire (from: √kam –to wish, to love, to long for, kāma – desire, love, pleasure; hetu – cause, motive, reason, haituka – that has the cause);

textual variants

te → ca (and);
kim anyat kāma-haitukam → akiṁcit kama-hetukam / kim anyat kāma-hetukam / akiṁcit kāmahaitukam (that has nothing else [but] desire as the cause / what other than desire is [its] cause? / that has nothing else [but] desire as the cause);

Śāṃkara

kiṃ ca—
asatyaṃ yathā vayam anṛta-prāyās tathedaṃ jagat sarvam asatyam | apratiṣṭhaṃ ca nāsya dharmādharmau pratiṣṭhāto’pratiṣṭhaṃ ceti | te āsurāḥ janāḥ jagad āhur anīśvaraṃ na ca dharmādharma-sa-vyapekṣako’sya śāsiteśvaro vidyata ity ato’nīśvaraṃ jagad āhuḥ | kiṃ ca, aparaspara-saṃbhūtaṃ kāma-prayuktayoḥ strī-puruṣayor anyonya-saṃyogāj jagat sarvaṃ saṃbhūtam | kim anyat kāma-haitukam | kāma-hetukam eva kāma-haitukam | kim anyaj jagataḥ kāraṇaṃ ? na kiṃcit adṛṣṭaṃ dharmādharmādi kāraṇāntaraṃ vidyate | jagataḥ kāma eva prāṇināṃ kāraṇam iti lokāyatika-dṛṣṭir iyam

Rāmānuja

kiṃ ca
asatyam jagad etat satyaśabdanirdiṣṭabrahmakāryatayā brahmātmakam iti nāhuḥ / apratiṣṭham tathā brahmaṇi pratiṣṭhitam iti na vadanti / brahmaṇānantena dhṛtā hi pṛthivī sarvān lokān bibharti / yathoktam, „teneyaṃ nāgavaryeṇa śirasā vidhṛtā mahī / bibharti mālāṃ lokānāṃ sad evāsuramānuṣām” iti / anīśvaram / satyasaṃkalpena pareṇa brahmaṇā sarveśvareṇa mayaitanniyamitam iti ca na vadanti / „ahaṃ sarvasya prabhavo mattas sarvaṃ pravartate” iti hy uktam / vadanti caivam aparas parasaṃbhūtam; kim anyat / yoṣitpuruṣayoḥ parasparasaṃbandhena jātam idaṃ manuṣyapaśvādikam upalabhyate; anevaṃbhūtaṃ kim anyad upalabhyate ? kiṃcid api nopalabhyata ityarthaḥ / ataḥ sarvam idaṃ jagat kāmahetukam iti

Śrīdhara

nanu vedoktayor dharmādharmayoḥ pravṛttiṃ nivṛttiṃ ca kathaṃ na viduḥ | kuto vā dharmādharmayor anaṅgīkāre jagataḥ sukha-duḥkhādi-vyavasthā syāt | kathaṃ vā śaucācārādi-viṣayān īśvarājñān ativarteran | īśvarānaṅgīkāre ca kuto jagad-utpattiḥ syāt | ata āha asatyam iti | nāsti satyaṃ veda-purāṇādi-pramāṇaṃ yasmin tādṛśaṃ jagad āhuḥ | vedādīnāṃ prāmāṇyaṃ na manyanta ity arthaḥ | tad uktaṃ trayo vedasya kartāro bhaṇḍa-dhūrta-niśācarā ity ādi || ataeva nāsti dharmādharma-rūpā pratiṣṭhā vyavasthā-hetur yasya tat | svābhāvikaṃ jagad-vaicitryam āhur ity arthaḥ | ataeva nāsti īśvaraḥ kartā vyavasthāpakaś ca yasya tādṛśaṃ jagad āhuḥ | tarhi kuto ‚sya jagata utpattiṃ vadantīti | ata āha aparaspara-sambhūtam iti | aparaś cety aparasparam | aparasparato ‚nonyataḥ strī-puruṣayor mithunāt sambhūtaṃ jagat | kim anyat | kāraṇam asya nāsti anyat kiñcit | kintu kāma-haitukam eva | strī-puruṣayor ubhayoḥ kāma eva pravāha-rūpeṇa hetur asyety āhur ity arthaḥ

Madhusūdana

nanu dharmādharmayoḥ pravṛtti-nivṛtti-viṣayayoḥ pratipādakaṃ vedākhyaṃ pramāṇam asti nirdoṣaṃ bhagavad-ājñā-rūpaṃ sarva-loka-prasiddhaṃ tad-upajīvīni ca smṛti-purāṇetihāsādīni santi, tat kathaṃ pravṛtti-nivṛtti-tat-pramāṇādy ajñānam | jñāne vājñollaṅghināṃ śāsitari bhagavati sati kathaṃ tad-ananuṣṭhānena śaucācārādi-rahitatvaṃ duṣṭānāṃ śāsitur bhagavato ‚pi loka-veda-prasiddhatvād ata āha asatyam iti | satyam abādhita-tātparya-viṣayaṃ tattvāvedakaṃ vedākhyaṃ pramāṇaṃ tad-upajīvi purāṇādi ca nāsti yatra tad asatyaṃ veda-svarūpasya pratyakṣa-siddhatve ‚pi tat-prāmāṇyānabhyupagamād viśiṣṭābhāvaḥ | ata eva nāsti dharmādharma-rūpā pratiṣṭhitā vyavasthā-hetur yasya tad apratiṣṭham | tathā nāsti śubhāśubhayoḥ karmaṇoḥ phala-dāneśvaro niyantā yasya tad anīśvaraṃ ta āsurā jagad āhuḥ | balavat pāpa-pratibandhād vedasya prāmāṇyaṃ te na manyante | tataś ca tad bodhitayor dharmādharmayor īśvarasya cānaṅgīkārād yatheṣṭācaraṇena te puruṣārtha-bhraṣṭā ity arthaḥ |
śāstraika-samadhigamya-dharmādharma-sahāyena prakṛty-adhiṣṭhātrā parameśvareṇa rahitaṃ jagad iṣyate cet kāraṇābhāvāt kathaṃ tad utpattir ity āśaṅkyāha aparaspara-saṃbhūtaṃ kāma-prayuktayoḥ strī-puruṣayor anyonya-saṃyogāt saṃbhūtam jagat kāma-haitukaṃ kāma-hetukam eva kāma-haitukaṃ kāmātiriktaa-kāraṇa-śūnyam |
nanu dharmādy apy asti kāraṇam ? nety āha kim anyat, anyad adṛṣṭaṃ kāraṇaṃ kim asti ? nāsty evety arthaḥ | adṛṣṭāṅgīkāre ‚pi kvacid gatvā svabhāve paryavasānāt svābhāvikam eva jagad-vaicitryam astu dṛṣṭe sambhavaty adṛṣṭa-kalpanānavakāśāt | ataḥ kāma eva prāṇināṃ kāraṇaṃ nānyad adṛṣṭeśvarādīty āhur iti lokāyatika-dṛṣṭir iyam

Viśvanātha

asurāṇāṃ matam āha asatyaṃ mithyā-bhūtaṃ bhramopalabdham eva jagat te vadnait | apratiṣṭhaṃ pratiṣṭhāśrayas tad-rahitam | na hi kha-puṣpasya kiñcid adhiṣṭhānam astīti bhāvaḥ | anīśvaraṃ mithyābhūtatvād eva īśvara-kartṛkam etan na bhavati | svedajādīnām akasmād eva jātatvāt aparaspara-sambhūtam | anyat kiṃ vaktavyam | kāma-haitukam kāmo vādinām icchaiva hetur yasya tat | mithyābhūtatvād eva ye yathā kalpayituṃ śaknuvanti tathiavaitad iti |
kecit punar evaṃ vyācakṣate asatyaṃ nāsti satyaṃ veda-purāṇādikaṃ pramāṇaṃ yatra tat | tad uktaṃ trayo vedasya kartāro bhaṇḍa-dhūrta-niśācarā ity ādi | apratiṣṭhaṃ nāsti dharmādharma-rūpā pratiṣṭhā vyavasthā yatra tat | dharmādharmāv api bhramopalabdhāv iti bhāvaḥ | anīśvaram īśvaro ‚pi bhrameṇopalabhyata iti bhāvaḥ |
nanu strī-puṃsayoḥ paraspara-prayatna-viśeṣād jagad etad utpannaṃ dṛśyata ity api bhrama eva kulālasya ghaṭotpādane jñānam iva mātāpitros tādṛśa-bālotpādane kila nāsti jñānm iti bhāvaḥ | kim anyat kim anyat vaktavyam iti bhāvaḥ | tasmād idaṃ jagat kāma-hetukaṃ kāmena svecchayaiva hetukā hetu-kalpakā yatra tat | yukti-balena ye yat paramāṇu-māyeśvarādikaṃ jalpayituṃ śaknuvanti te tad eva tasya hetuṃ vadantīty arthaḥ

Baladeva

teṣāṃ siddhāntān darśayati tatraika-jīva-vādinām āha asatyam iti | idaṃ jagad asatyaṃ śukti-rajatādivad bhrānti-vijṛmbhitam | apratiṣṭhaṃ kha-puṣpavan nirāśrayam | nāsty eveśvaro janmādi-hetur yasya tat | so ‚pi tadvad bhrānti-racita eva | pāramārthike tasmin sthite tan nirmita-jagat tadvad dṛṣṭa-naṣṭa-prāyaṃ na syāt | tasmād asatyaṃ jagat ta eva manyante | ekaiva nirviśeṣo sarva-pramāṇāvedyā cid-bhramād eko jīvas tato ‚nyaj jaḍa-jīveśvarātmakaṃ tad-ajñānāt pratibhāṣate | ā-svarūpa-sākṣāt-kārād avisaṃvādi svāpnikam iva hasty-aśva-rathādikam ā-jāgarāt | sati ca svarūpa-sākṣātkāre tad-ajñāna-kalpitaṃ taj-jīvatvena saha nivarteta svāpnika-rathāśādīva suṣuptāv iti |
atha svabhāva-vādināṃ bauddhānām āha aparaspara-sambhūtam iti strī-puruṣa-sambhoga-janyaṃ jagan na bhavati ghaṭotpādane kulālasyeva bālotpādane pitrāder jñānābhāvāt saty apy asakṛt sambhoge santānān utpatteś ca svedajādīnām akasmād utpatteś ca | tasmāt svabhāvād evedaṃ bhavatīti |
atha lokāyatikānām āha kāma-hetukam iti | kim anyad vācym | strī-puruṣayoḥ kāma eva pravāhātmanā hetur asyeti svārthe ṭhañ | athavā jainānām āha kāmaḥ svecchayaiva hetur asyeti | yukti-balena yo yat kalpayituṃ śaknuyāt sa tad eva tasya hetuṃ vadatīty arthaḥ