द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च ।दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे शृणु ॥
dvau bhūtasargau loke 'smin daiva āsura eva ca |daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṃ pārtha me śṛṇu ||
- द्वौ · dvau
- two
- भूतसर्गौ · bhūtasargau
- creations of beings, orders of nature
- लोके · loke
- in the world
- अस्मिन् · asmin
- in this
- दैवः · daivaḥ
- the divine
- आसुरः · āsuraḥ
- the demoniac
- विस्तरशः · vistaraśaḥ
- at length
- प्रोक्तः · proktaḥ
- has been declared
- पार्थ · pārtha
- O Partha
- मे · me
- from me
- शृणु · śṛṇu
- hear
“In this world there are two orders of beings — the divine and the demoniac. The divine has been described at length; now hear from me about the demoniac, O Partha.”
— Original plain-language translation
The two natures are tendencies within humanity, not fixed species — everyone contains both in shifting measure. Krishna elaborates the darker side because its workings are harder to spot in oneself. Diagnosis precedes cure.
— Reader's notes (original)