Verse 15.1
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
श्रीभगवानुवाच | ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् | छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ||१||
Transliteration (IAST)
śrī bhagavān uvāca | ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam | chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit ||1||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
The Supreme Lord said: They speak of an imperishable Ashvattha tree with its roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is a knower of the Vedas.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains this inverted tree as a metaphor for samsara - the cycle of worldly existence rooted in Brahman above and branching downward into manifestation. The Katha Upanishad (2.3.1) uses the same imagery. Ramanuja interprets the roots above as the Supreme Being from whom creation proceeds downward. The leaves being Vedic hymns suggests that ritualistic knowledge sustains this tree of worldly existence.