svabhāva-tantro hi janaḥ
svabhāvam anuvartate
svabhāva-stham idaḿ sarvaḿ
sa-devāsura-mānuṣam
svabhava -- of his conditioned nature; tantrah -- under the control; hi -- indeed; janah -- a person; svabhavam -- his nature; anuvartate -- he follows; svabhava-stham -- based on conditioned propensities; idam -- this world; sarvam -- entire; sa -- together with; deva -- the demigods; asura -- the demons; manusham -- 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 Krishna here elaborates upon the argument given in the previous verse. Since everything depends on svabhava, or one's conditioned nature, why bother worshiping God or the demigods? This argument would be sublime if svabhava, or conditioned nature, were all-powerful. But unfortunately it is not. There is a supreme controller and we must worship Him, as Lord Krishna will emphatically reveal in this chapter of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. For now, however, He is content to tease His relatives.
